


Fractions of a Whole

by petpluto



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Male-Female Friendship, Mystery, Pre-Series, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-15
Updated: 2013-05-14
Packaged: 2017-12-05 09:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 36,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/721647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petpluto/pseuds/petpluto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A/U - Lilly is alive and flirting, Weevil is failing his math class, Veronica is a school tutor following her break up with Duncan Kane, and Logan is a wreck. </p><p>Sophomore year is going to be a pretty rocky ride, and Weevil is pretty sure this isn't what he agreed to when he promised his grandmother he'd graduate high school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I cannot even begin to stress how much these guys aren't mine.
> 
> The title is taken from Bright Eyes' "Bowl of Oranges"
> 
> So, when I was watching "Not Pictured" again, I got the idea to write the story of Veronica having an uninteresting little life, and dating Logan Echolls in all her long haired, naive glory. This isn't that story. I'm not sure when (or if!) that story will come. This is an entirely different story, because Weevil hijacked my brain.

Under any other circumstances on the planet, Weevil would not be sitting in Rebecca James’ office, waiting for a tutor to help him pass pre-Algebra. But, he needs to pass this class in order to move up and become a junior, and he needs to become a junior so he can one day graduate from this school, walk across the stage, make his grandmother proud, and then ride away from this fucked up town as fast as his bike can handle.

He’s pretty sure he can endure abject humiliation in order to achieve that goal. And he’s willing to risk it in order to make this happen.

When Miss James returns after what feels like a lifetime, she has little Veronica Mars in tow. Truth be told, he’s pretty happy about that. She’s never made much of an impression on him, but what he does know about her means that she probably won’t be holding this over his head for all eternity. And when she interrupts Miss James’, “Veronica this is - “ with a “Hi, Weevil” and a little wave, he feels like he’s won the tutoring lottery.

Miss James looks surprised as Veronica turns to her and continues, saying, “So, I’m going to need a pre-Algebra book, and the most recent test Mr. Brubeck gave. If you can get that to me by the end of the day, that’d be great. Weevil and I actually have lunch at the same time, so I think we can go over when our tutoring sessions should be then.” She turns to him and blushes. “If, you know, that works for you.”

It’s not as if he didn’t know the gang would find out about this sooner or later. Might as well be sooner, so he says, “Yeah. That works for me.”

Miss James, still looking shell-shocked, allows Veronica to lead him out of her office with only an “Okay, then. Let me know if there’s any trouble” echoing after them.

Once they’re out in the hallway, he grabs for her arm. Decides to change the trajectory, so he doesn’t scare her, and just grazes it instead. “So, uh, we doing this at your table? Or mine?”

She wrinkles her nose at him, and he finds it oddly endearing. “Um, neither? We won’t get anything done if you or I am getting hassled.”

“Hey, my guys -”

She shakes her head. “I’m not saying anything other than this: my table’s a no-go for you, because most of them are... ...well, they are who they are. And I don’t need to hear the come ons you know I will if we eat at your table. So, we’ll find neutral ground. And eat our lunches like civilized people without the running commentary track.”

He hates to admit it, but she makes a good point. So he just nods.

“Alright, then! I’ve got to get back to study hall. See you at lunch.” She bounds away from him, and he turns to go back to the class he’s failing.


	2. Chapter 2

He finds her sitting at an empty table, going over some notes. “Hey.”

“Hey. I figure, this is far enough away from our respective tables to not get harassed, and close enough so they can see nothing’s going on.”

“You worried about something happening to you, chica?” He’s almost amused.

“Not me,” she says. “I know you.” Her voice takes on a Southern affectation. “You’re a rebel with a heart of gold, you are.”

“Oh, yeah? What do you know?”

“I know that the last time you got arrested, it’s because you punched a guy out who was dragging his crying girlfriend to his car.” Seeing his stunned reaction, she dryly states, “Dad brings his work home with him sometimes.”

“And you go through the case files?”

“Well, yeah. But that’s not what I meant.”

He doesn’t know what to do except look at his hands, so that’s what he does. She interrupts his bashfulness with a, “What period do you have study hall?”

“Um, sixth.”

“Hmm, I have English sixth. We’ll have to meet outside of school. What days are you free?” She’s all business.

Before he can answer, a shadow falls across the table, followed by a petulant, “Ronica?” and he looks up into the face of Logan Echolls.

Veronica seems completely unaware of, or just indifferent to, the undercurrents at the table. “Hey, Logan.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m eating with Weevil. I told Lilly to tell you.”

Logan huffs. “Lill’s not speaking to me this week. Why are you spending lunch with the help?”

“Logan,” she says warningly as Weevil starts, “Stop. And it’s a school thing.”

Weevil watches Echolls’ hand clench and unclench. “Blow it off.”

“Can’t.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

She frowns at him. “Both. Logan. Go.”

“Uh uh. I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

“Yo, Richie Rich. Don’t you already have a blonde? Why you want this one too?”

Veronica’s scandalized “Weevil!” leaves him feeling shamed, and he doesn’t know why. He does know that it’s Veronica’s reaction that keeps Echolls from hitting him. He watches as she gets up from the table and grabs Echolls’ arm, as she pulls him a little further away.

Their conversation is muffled, but he can hear the intonations and thinks Veronica is winning this little battle. Watches as Echolls stalks off to a different table, not one of the ones the rest of the 09ers are sitting at but one closer to them, and proceeds to plop down dramatically. Watches him turn to watch the blonde walking back to him. And continues watching Echolls watch them as Veronica returns to her seat.

“Sorry about that. He’s just a little overprotective,” she apologizes.

Weevil smirks. “Oh, yeah? He feeling threatened by little old me?”

She flushes. “He’s feeling like little old me shouldn’t be hanging out with gang members. I didn’t know what to tell him, because I doubt you want everyone to know you’re getting tutored. And I can’t say you’re helping me.”

“Why can’t you?”

“Because you’re not, and he can tell when I’m lying; and because he’d want to know what you can do that he can’t, and I don’t have an answer for that.”

Weevil makes sure his leer is good and dirty before saying, “I can do many, many things your boy over there hasn’t even dreamed of.”

Her blush is deep and red, and she squirms. “Just, stop that, ok?”

“Yeah, alright.” He goes to apologize, and a pizza box is plopped in front of them.

“Hey, Ronnie. Logan asked me to bring you lunch.”

Veronica barely looks up. “Thanks, Dick.” The guy doesn’t leave. “Goodbye, Dick.”

“Yeah, I’m supposed to ask if you’re ok.”

Weevil could almost find this funny if it were happening to someone else. Veronica turns to him and says, “Clearly, we can’t work at this at lunch.” Turns back to the guy, and says, “Dick, if I weren’t ok, would I be able to say so? Right in front of the guy I might not be ok with?”

Dick looks confused. “So... Is that a no?”

Veronica sighs. “No, Dick, I’m fine.”

“So, that’s a yes?”

Weevil thinks that Veronica must have the patience of a saint if this is her every day existence. He starts to say something, only to have Veronica hold up her hand to him. “Dick, I am ok. You can go tell Logan that I am ok, and that he can drive me home after school.”

“Cool!” The guy nods, grabs some pieces of pizza, and jaunts off to Echolls’ table, throwing a ‘later’ over his shoulder at them. Veronica waves. 

“Sorry about that. Want a slice?”

“You deal with that a lot?”

She shrugs. “Logan’s a worrier. You should have seen what happened the first time Lilly set me up on a date.” He wants to know, but she doesn’t offer anything else. She lifts up a piece of pizza and takes a bite. “Listen, I’m going to have to tell him what we’re doing, so he doesn’t end up having an aneurysm. He won’t say anything if I tell him not to. You ok with that?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t exactly planning on keeping this a secret anyway. I’m gonna have to tell my guys, or else they’ll be assuming all sorts of indecent things about your virtue.”

She snorts. “Since when do you care about my virtue, or rumors thereof?

“Since your daddy has a badge.”

She nods. “Good point.”

Weevil can’t help be curious. “So you and Echolls?”

“So, me and Echolls what?”

“You two an item?”

“You must live under a rock. Logan and Lilly are together. Mostly. Lilly is my best friend. Logan is one of my best friends. I’d be stupid or socially suicidal to ever consider it. So, no.”

He bristles at the mention of Lilly and Logan, and it hurts him more than he thinks it will to hear that Veronica knows nothing about him. From what he’s seen, she wouldn’t be able to lie about it. So he doesn’t know what that means for him and Lilly. “Alright. Just wondering. He’s a little overbearing for someone not dating you.”

“He’s like the big brother I never wanted, especially since he’s younger than me,” she jokes. “Now, I’ve got Pep Squad Mondays, Thursdays, and Alternate Saturdays. That leaves Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays after school, Sunday all day, and those days after 5. I think we should have a standing twice a week appointment, and then add extras before tests and quizzes and stuff. What do you think?”

“Um, sounds good.” He nods. “Yeah.”

“So...”

He looks back into big, blue eyes. “So?”

“When are you free?”

“Oh. I help out at my uncle’s garage Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So, Mondays after 5 and then Fridays right after school works. I mean, if that’s ok.”

“Sure thing. So, what are you having trouble with?”

“The math.”

“Yeah, but what parts specifically?”

“Specifically?” He leans back and thinks. “The math.”

She gives him a dark look. “Oh, you’re going to be fun. You know where I live?” He nods. “Come by at 5 on Monday. We’ll do this there.”

She looks past him at the table where Echolls and now Dick are sitting. Dick looks oblivious; but Echolls looks like if he had the power to, Weevil would be dead where he’s sitting. He smirks. “Your boy looks ready to pop a gasket.”

“Yeah. Listen, keep the pizza. I’m going to go try and calm him down.” She turns back towards him, walking backwards for a couple of steps, and says, “Monday, 5 o’clock. Don’t forget!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any dialogue taken from the show itself is correct courtesy of vmtranscripts.com

When he pulls up to her house, he sees the yellow monstrosity of a car Lilly is always climbing in and out of in the driveway. Logan Echolls, keeper of all the cute blondes, he thinks derisively.

It’s Echolls who opens the door to the house. He’s puffed up, trying to look remotely tough, and Weevil wants to laugh in his face. “Look, honey,” he calls saccharinely back into the house, “it’s our friendly neighborhood thug.”

“Logan,” she calls back, “I told you you could be here if you weren’t being a jerk. So, stop being a jerk, or leave.”

Logan continues leaning on the door, blocking his entrance. “Now, I know I’m not the best when it comes to book learning, but I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be inside the house for my tutoring session.”

Logan looks back at him. “If you even think about hurting her, I’ll kill you,” he says, and he actually sounds serious. 

Weevil can’t say he doesn’t gain the slightest bit of respect for the guy. “You really do think of yourself as the girl’s white knight, don’t you?”

“I’m serious,” he says. “If she says you’ve made her uncomfortable or if you’ve upset her in any way, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Look, man, I don’t know what you think this is, but it’s only tutoring. Maybe you should ask your girl why she likes to help out those of us you don’t approve of.”

Logan opens the door a little wider for him. “It’s because she’s Veronica Mars. Helping others is what she likes to do.”

He leads them both toward the kitchen, and he sees Veronica pulling cookie sheets out of the oven. Echolls walks in and steals a cookie off of what looks to be a sheet set aside for cooling. Judging from the juggling act he does, it isn’t close to being cool yet.

“Sorry about this,” she apologizes. “I’m in charge of baking the cookies for the teams’ spirit boxes. I totally flaked on it, so I have to get it done now.” Logan grabs for another cookie, and Veronica smacks his hand before he can get there. He pouts at her. “Are you on the team? No. These are for people who care enough to -”

“Spend hours playing with balls and then showering with other guys?” Logan breaks in. Weevil snorts. “No thank you. Plus, my little pixie, you love me. And you’re just dying to let me eat some cookies. Actually, you’re just chomping at the bit to make me some of my very own.”

She rolls her eyes at him, and walks away. Logan shrugs at Weevil and grabs two more cookies, handing Weevil one. She returns with a basket and holds it out to Logan. “Here. It’s your very own special ‘Logan is King’ prize pack. It holds not only the snickerdoodles you’re currently burning your esophagus with, but some chocolate chip too. There’s also the video game Duncan stole from you six months ago, and a surprise movie. You can have this, if you agree to leave this house.”

Logan looks at the basket longingly. “But -”

“No buts. I promise I will call you when we’re done. I promise that you can continue hovering like the annoying pest you are, after.”

Logan nods begrudgingly, and takes the basket. He gestures toward her with it. “But you’re calling me sooner if you need me. For any reason.”

“Sure. Yes. I will.”

Weevil watches as he ambles back through the house. Veronica turns back and says, “You can get your stuff out. We’re going to set up on the kitchen table, so I can attempt to multitask.”

“Sure,” he replies. “What’s up with Echolls, anyway?”

Veronica’s halfway down the hall as she tells him, “He’s trying to help me get over the fact that Duncan Kane is dating Shelly Pomeroy.” He’s distributing his book and notebook on the table, and a basket appears in front of him. “And I’m pretty sure he’s trying to distract himself this week.”

“What’s this?”

“Oh,” she blushes. “I made it for you. I figured, I had to be making all these cookies when you were here. It would be mean to not have something for you too. It’s not as good as Logan’s basket. I don’t have any video games of yours that I’ve stolen, and I don’t know what kinds of movies you like.”

Weevil is oddly touched. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No,” she shrugs. “But I wanted to. Don’t feel special or anything. My dad’s getting one too.”

“Right, wouldn’t want to feel special.”

“Of course not. Special is bad.” She smiles at him, and he finds himself smiling back. She opens the book Miss James obviously was able to get her, and says, “Page 136. Ok, Bob sells a house for $136,000. If he makes 5% commission for every house he sells, how much money did Bob earn on this sale?”

Weevil sighs, and looks to unwrap his basket. Her glare as he messes with the crinkly cellophane is enough for him to put it on the floor for the moment. “All I know is, if your boy Bob only gets 5%, um, he's pushing the wrong product.”

“Yeah, math books aren’t big on focusing on real world issues. So, how about you work with me here, pretend that you and I and Bob live in a world where 5% is amazing, and see if you can figure out Bob’s commission.”

“Yeah, ok.” He looks around. “I get something to write with here?”

He knows before she gives it that he’s going to get a look that would make his grandmother proud. “First fundamental of fundamentals of math? Always carry your writing utensil.”

“Sure thing, Teach.” He takes the pencil from her and dutifully copies the bare math of the problem into his notebook. 

It’s another hour of him trying and failing to work out the problems on the first go around, and her painstakingly and patiently going over the process to get the right answers and running interference on cookies before her father comes home. Weevil knows that things are going to get uncomfortable from the second the sheriff’s “Hi honey” echoes down to the kitchen.

He hunches a little in his chair as Sheriff Mars and his police canine come into the room. “Eli.”

His name is flat. Weevil looks around at the pastel girl who is sitting upright and looking directly at her father. Looks around at the clean, quiet kitchen. Looks down at the friendly pit bull who has walked over and is nuzzling into his lap. “Sheriff.”

The sheriff looks at the dog in faux disgust, stage whispers “traitor”. Weevil can’t help but smile.

“Remember that tutoring program you thought I should sign up for after -” Veronica’s voice catches. “Anyway, I’m helping Weevil.”

He’s pretty sure ‘after’ is after Duncan Kane broke her heart. Even he, in his little biker club, heard about the devastation from sources other than Lilly. He wonders how bad it was that she had to volunteer for tutoring to get her dad off her back. The Sheriff isn’t saying anything though, and he doesn’t know what Veronica is hoping to accomplish by looking at him winningly. 

“I made you a basket,” she says to her father, as if the silence hasn’t become uncomfortably oppressive, as if this is a normal scenario for the Sheriff. As if a basket of baked goods can really win over hearts and minds. He thinks that if she were a little tougher, nothing would stop her attempts to bend the world to her will. He suddenly sees himself in a light blue leather jacket, and his gang deciding turf over a game of jacks and fights the out and out grin that is trying to creep over his face.

“Well,” he breaks in. “I’m feeling refreshed. See you at school.” Gives the dog one last ear rub before he stands.

She nods at him. “Remember, next time we meet is Friday. Make sure you bring your book, any class work you guys have done, and a pencil.” She emphasizes ‘pencil’. “If you want to, I’ll check over your homework before you go to class, though.”

“Sure thing.” He nods goodbye, and grabs his own basket of cookies off the floor. He can’t help but be a little satisfied at the Sheriff’s startled look. See? He wants to say. Your daughter likes me enough to bake for me too. He doesn’t, because Sheriff Mars has always been good to him, even when the cuffs were coming out. He knows why the guy doesn’t approve of him being in the house, alone, with his daughter. Can’t hate him for that.

He pauses at the front door long enough to hear the sheriff say, “Honey, do I need to recap my Concerned Dad lectures?” before letting himself out. He doesn’t really need to hear the rest of it.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, he’s waiting with Felix when he sees Veronica with Lilly stop in the hallway. They’re close enough to hear the girls’ conversation, so he motions for Felix to stay quiet. 

“It’s just so ridiculous,” Lilly is saying. “As if Shelly has even been dating him long enough to gain access to the famed Kane dinner table. And then Celeste has the gall to ask me to be ‘a little more friendly to the girl’. And I’m like, ‘Uh, I have a best friend, remember? Veronica? She who had to wait six whole months before being asked to dine as Donut’s girlfriend?’ I just don’t know what she’s thinking.”

“Probably that she hates me and is super thrilled Duncan has found someone more ‘appropriate’,” Veronica intones. “Listen, maybe you should be more friendly to Shelly.”

“Why?” Lilly sounds scandalized by the very thought.

“Because, if Duncan really likes her, then...”

“Oh please. He can’t. It’s Shelly. He’s only with her because she’ll give it up quick.”

Veronica looks down. “Do you think that’s why he -”

“No, Veronica. No.” She grabs her friend, and stares her dead in the eye. Weevil has always been impressed by her loyalty to Veronica, and moments like this prove to him that the Lilly he loves is the real deal. “Listen to me: your strangely prudish ways only made him like you more. He’s just... Being weird. And you shouldn’t want to be with someone that weird. Especially after they’ve been with Shelly.”

Veronica nods. “Okay, well, I have to get to my locker. Logan said he’d wait for me there after I told him you were driving me this morning.”

“How is Logan?” Lilly asks.

“Still pining over you,” Veronica retorts.

“Well, of course he is, Veronica! I’m fabulous. He’s always going to be pining away. I’m a Kane, don’t you forget it!”

Weevil almost wants to kick her for putting that look on her friend’s face. “Never do, Lill.”

“Right, well, darling, I’ll see you in between classes, if you can pry yourself away from my ex. We’ll go to the mall after school. I need to pick up some sexy stuff for my life A. L.”

“Can’t, Logan is making me watch the The Caine Mutiny after school.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re both working on getting over a Kane.”

“That’s not even how you spell our name,” Lilly says, and Veronica only shrugs. “Ugh, I hate shopping alone.”

“Take Shelly.”

“I can’t even believe you said that. You’re getting a backbone, Veronica Mars.”

“Yeah, well,” Veronica looks down the hall. Weevil follows the line of her stare and sees Duncan Kane. “Your brother’s waiting.”

He watches Lilly nod, and the two girls breaking away from each other. Gives Veronica a thirty second head start before following her down the hall.

When he gets to her locker, Echolls is there, complaining about the wait he’s, in his own words, endured. 

“Your locker isn’t even near anyone I know,” he’s saying. Veronica nods faux-sympathetically at him as she opens her locker. 

“Poor baby.”

“Poor baby is right,” he says. “So, I’m thinking, this afternoon, we do mixed drinks and poolside first, then movie time second.”

“And homework third?” Veronica asks, and smiles at Weevil as he hands her his own to look over.

“Yeah, homework will get done, you little slave driver.” Echolls nods at him in greeting, and Weevil feels like his world is becoming somewhat surreal.

“Always with the size-based insults,” she grumbles playfully back at Echolls as she checks his work. Weevil looks up and sees Lilly cataloguing the situation from a little farther down the hall. He doesn’t know what to make of the fact that she looks distinctly unhappy.

“Okay,” Veronica looks up from his work, and he looks away from Lilly. “You’re mostly good. It’s only problems 11, 14, and 18 that aren’t quite right.”

“Aren’t quite right,” Logan echoes. “Is that a pixie way of saying ‘wrong’?”

“No, it’s a tutor way of saying, ‘we need to work on this concept’. But for now,” she scribbles on the top of the paper, “here’s the formula for it. Try working it out again, and if the teacher calls on you for those, say you’ve already got them flagged for me.” She smiles at him. “But, aside from that, great job, Weevil!”

“Yeah, Weevil, you’re going to be at the top of the class in no time,” Echolls fake cheers. Veronica goes to hit him, but he catches her arm. She makes a sound Weevil can only describe as ‘wet cat’. “Come on, shorty. We’ve got to get to class. I’ll even let you carry my books.”

“Anything to make you feel like the princess you are,” Veronica tells him fondly, and waves Weevil goodbye.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Any dialogue taken from the show itself is correct courtesy of vmtranscripts.com

Veronica’s sitting on the front steps of the school, after last bell, looking lost and forlorn. 

“I thought you were supposed to be having a pool and movie date with Echolls,” he calls out to her.

“Yeah. Me too. But then Lilly decided that she wasn’t ready for life A.L. yet, and the two of them spent a majority of sixth and seventh making up for lost time in a supply closet.” She makes a face. “He offered me a ride home, but, like an idiot, I told him I had one already lined up.”

Weevil feels his entire body tense up at the idea of Lilly and Logan getting back together, even though she’s been avoiding him. If he’s honest, it bothers him more because she’s been avoiding him. “So, what are you doing?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I didn’t have another ride lined up. So, I’m sitting here, waiting for my mother to come home and get my message on our answering machine, so she can come and get me.”

He sighs. Nothing gets him more than a down and out blonde. “I’ll take you home.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but we’ve gotta hoof it, because I have places to be.”

She nods, and gets up to join him. She looks a little glassy eyed. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Look, it’s none of my business. But don’t get down about Echolls. He’s not worth it.”

She hunches into herself. “It’s not Logan.” She pauses and then amends, “It’s not just Logan. It’s Lilly too. I mean, they’re supposed to be my best friends. And I know I’m third wheel right now, but I feel like I’m just... I’m getting left behind.” She gives a sad little half laugh. “Literally.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just lets her walk quietly beside him as they walk to his bike. He hands her the helmet, and climbs on. She looks at the bike hesitantly.

“It’s okay,” he tells her. “I don’t bite.”

“It’s not that. I trust you,” she says. “I just don’t know how to get on.”

“You know how you get on your 10 speed?” he asks. She nods. “Basically like that. Just swing your leg a little higher.”

She ends up kicking him in the side, and then kneeing him in the back, before she’s successful. In the end, she manages to swing herself on and then grips at him desperately. He readjusts one hand at a time, in order to make her feel more comfortable.

“Hold on,” he tells her, and he can feel her nod.

It’s strange, her on the back of his bike. It’s wholly different than when he’s ridden around with Lilly. Her grip tightens around him as he goes around turns, and she presses herself closer to him when he goes faster, but there’s nothing in it except what it is - someone who trusts him to get her home.

When they pull up in front of her house, she leaps off. He’s a little disgruntled at her lack of affection for his bike when she turns around after liberating her head from his helmet, grinning. 

“That was so cool!” she enthuses. “You need to take me out again! I’ll pay you in cookies!”

He laughs. “Alright, I will. Glad you liked riding on my big old hog.” He can’t help the leer he throws her way.

Her face scrunches up. “And then you had to go and do that.”

“It’s who I am.” He refuses to apologize to her, this time. She’s no longer paying attention to him, looking instead at the car in her driveway. “Hey, you alright?”

“Yeah.” She smiles tightly at him. “I’m good. It’s just - my mom’s home.”

“Right, she’s probably not too thrilled you came screaming up into the drive on the back of my bike.”

“No.” Her voice is soft, her eyes far away. “That’s not it. Why didn’t she come get me?”

He finds himself shrugging at her. “Don’t know. Listen, if you don’t want to be here, I can take you somewhere else.”

She turns and faces him again. “Where else would I go?” Weevil looks back at her, not knowing what to say. “It’s ok. I’ll see you.”

“Right,” he says. “See you.”

He stays as she trudges up the walkway, and he makes sure she gets into the house before he puts his helmet on and rides away.


	6. Chapter 6

They quickly establish a routine. She shows him where the key is to her house, so if he gets there before she does, he can let himself in. She tells her dog to be chill when he lets himself in. He’s a little overwhelmed by faith and trust that bestows upon him; but not, as it turns out, as overwhelmed as Logan is.

“You let him know where the key was?” Logan grinds out, aghast, when they walk in one Friday and he’s already sitting at the table, munching on some chips.

She smiles and waves at him, and wanders away from Logan. “Yeah. I don’t get what the big deal is.”

“The big deal,” Logan drawls out, “is that you’ve let a guy who’s been arrested more times than anyone else in our grade into your house. With a key. He could rob you blind.”

“Weevil, are you going to rob me blind?”

Weevil stops to think about it. “Not today.”

“See? Not today.”

Logan groans. “What about any other day?”

“Please. This is the sheriff’s house. We have a dog. Weevil’d have to be crazy or stupid to pull something at this house.”

Weevil looks at Logan. “She’s right.”

“How do you know he isn’t stupid?”

“Logan...”

“No,” the guy protests. “I’m serious. He needs you to tutor him, Ronnie.”

“You need me to tutor you, Lo,” she retorts.

“Well, yeah. But that’s because I’m unmotivated. His tutoring is mandated. By the school.”

“If somebody doesn’t stop griping,” Weevil cuts in, “he’s not going to get any of my grandmother’s empanadas.”

Logan turns around. “You have Lettie’s empanadas here? Ronica, he can have any key he wants.”

He’s not sure why, but Logan is around a lot when he’s being tutored. He thinks it may be a grand conspiracy between Echolls and Sheriff Mars to allow him as little time alone with the tiny blonde as they can muster, but he’s not convinced.

What he does know is that when the routine deviates from the norm, when they’re not going over Veronica’s house for some reason or another that she won’t actually give him, they usually end up at the Echolls’ mansion. Sometimes Logan joins them, bothers and teases Veronica until she snaps and kicks him out. He listens, most of the time, and Weevil thinks that’s weird since they are in his house. Sometimes, the times Weevil wants to destroy whatever room they’ve set up in, Lilly is over and Logan is completely enthralled. And sometimes there’s the blond guy who delivered her pizza and his geeky little brother, who talk surfing and video games and trips to Mexico for donkey shows. Those are the times Veronica gathers up their books and moves them elsewhere, usually the library. The house’s, not the town’s.

He’s fiddling with his pencil and trying not to stare up the stairs that Lilly just waltzed up without a care in the world, and he can’t help but note that Veronica is doing the exact same thing. And it occurs to him why they are always with Echolls. The fact that he’s got Vee’s affection too just makes him hate the asshole a little bit more.


	7. Chapter 7

He chases Lilly a little more once he knows that Veronica likes Logan. It’s stupid. It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t up his chances at all, and it has the added detriment of possibly hurting not only him but Veronica as well. And yet, when he sees her sashay down the hall outside of his study hall, he gets up, walks out, and follows. 

“Why, hello, Eli,” she says playfully. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Yeah,” he breathes back, not so playfully. “It’s pretty fancy, you leaving me your calling card.”

“What, that?” She smirks at him. “Did you think that walk was for you, lover?”

He feels small, out of control, like Lilly is a whirlwind unto herself and she has the power to pick him up or drop him at a moment’s notice. It’s liberating and terrifying, and deadly. Play the game, and you can win. Or lose. “My mistake. I’ll just go on back, see if there’s anyone who’ll keep me company.”

“As long as it’s not Veronica Mars.” Lilly isn’t playing. Or, she is. But not about this. She’s got her thumb to her mouth, and has her little Lolita stance all perfectly set up.

“What?” Weevil is staring at her legs. All the way up her legs.

She rolls her big, doe eyes and walks over. Kisses him right in the hall, like there’s no danger to this at all. “Veronica. My best friend? Tiny, blonde. Cute?”

“Yeah, Vee. Good at math. Likes her dad and chocolate ice cream, and sappy chick flicks.” Lilly pulls back, smiles at him. Moves forward, presses a kiss to his throat. He can’t breathe. 

“That’d be the one. Play your games with any other girl you want, Eli. I give you full reign.” She pouts at him and then kisses her way up his neck to his mouth, pressing every inch of herself against him. “I even like it. But don’t touch Veronica. Got it?”

“I don’t want Veronica,” he tells her hoarsely, and pulls her even closer. “She’s just -”

Lilly smiles, and grabs his hand. “Good. Because Veronica isn’t like us, Weevil. She’s delicate.” She jostles the hall closet door open. “And it’s our job to keep her that way.”

They fumble in the dark, and Weevil stops her for a second, “What about Echolls? I thought -”

“Ugh, talking,” she complains, and he can just make out the outlines of her pout from the light that is coming in. “Logan and I are done. Finally and completely. I’m letting him know that, too. Soon.”

He doesn’t pause again, to find out what that means for them, since Lilly always denies there is a them. Being here, like this, with her, is like being in the middle of a natural event. She is a phenomenon, and he loves her for it. Loves her for the spontaneity she harbors, even when he resents the pain it brings him. 

When they’re done, when she’s done with him, he silently hands her shirt back and watches her prep herself for the outside world. She smiles up at him. “That was amazing.” 

She presses a quick kiss to his lips, and he grins in response. “Easy to be amazing when I got such great inspiration.”

She giggles. “Okay, I’m out first, then you follow.”

She peeks out into the world, and spins around to catch his lips one last time. “Later, lover.”

He follows the required 20 seconds afterward, blissed out. 

“How long?” 

He turns around and faces Veronica in the hallway, and knows she had just gotten done watching Lilly leave. “How long what?”

She looks disappointed in him. “How long have you and Lilly been a thing?”

He feels a little panicked, and thinks back on to what Lilly just said about her best friend, about ‘delicate’. He didn’t get it then, and he doesn’t get it now. But it doesn’t sound like it will be good for either of them. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but -”

“I know what I saw.” Her voice is level. Her eyes are hard. She looks like her father. “What I want to know if how long I haven’t been seeing it.”

“Lilly and I don’t have a thing.” Veronica just holds his gaze. “She wouldn’t call it a thing.”

She nods, like she understands. “Ah. You’re one of the people she uses the spy pen for.”

“You know about that.”

“I thought it was a joke. I thought she was kidding.” She naws at her lip, and stares blankly down the hallway. “I’ve got to tell Logan.”

“What? Why?”

“Because he deserves to know.”

“You don’t owe him anything, Vee.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t know that. And he’s my friend. And I’m not letting him find out about this from someone else. And I can’t let her hurt him like this.” She pauses. “Plus, I’d be a big old hypocrite if I didn’t.”

He nods. He’s used to not being the first concern. Or the second. Or on the list. So, when she tugs on his hand, he looks up at her with the thinnest veil of bravado. “Yeah?”

“Don’t let her hurt you like this either,” she commands. He snorts. “I mean it. I love Lilly. I love her so much, sometimes it hurts because she does these things and she hurts other people. You deserve better than being ‘not a thing’ to Lilly.”

“Do I?” He scoffs. “Tell me, Veronica. Would you bring me home to Daddy?”

“Already did,” she shoots back.

“You know what I mean. I’m not the guy nice white girls bring around for Sunday dinner.”

She scowls. “You must be far gone if you think Lilly is nice. But, alright. No, I wouldn’t bring you home. Because my dad, having arrested you a lot, would have a conniption fit and die. And I love him. But, more importantly, you’ve been with Lilly. And if you think that’s something I want to be compared to, you’re not paying attention. However, if you didn’t have a not thing with Lilly, and if I met the new biker you for the first time when we started tutoring instead of when you were screaming obscenities at my dad and Sacks, and if you liked me, then yes. I would bring you home. But not for Sunday dinner, because while I’m the whitest of the white, this isn’t the 1950s.”

He smirks. “So, if I liked you, you’d go out with me.”

“Well, I’m kinda on the rebound, so you might want to wait a couple of months. And in the hypothetical world where I didn’t know more about your arrest record than your attorney, yeah. If you liked me. Which, you don’t.”

“How do you know?”

She waves her arms out and looks like she’s hugging the world. “Because you’re hung up on Lilly. You know, she says that no guy who’s fallen for her fabulous self is ever his own again? She’s always got a piece of you guys. I’m just Veronica.”

“So, when did this turn from an inspirational, ‘Weevil, you just gotta believe’ into a pity party for you because some guy you like is dating Lilly Kane?”

Her arms cross in front of her chest and she looks like she’s shutting down as she says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You think I’m stupid? That sounded an awful lot like something you’ve been telling yourself for a while. And, as much as I would love to think you’re pining over me, we both know that ain’t the case. So, little miss daughter of the sheriff, the clues say there’s someone else.”

“Shut up,” she hisses. “And so what if it is? Half the guys in this school are hung up on Lilly.”

“Uh huh. And only one of them is the son of a movie star.” She flushes bright red. “I really don’t get what he’s got that makes all you girls climb all over him.”

She looks away. “You wouldn’t. It’s just a stupid little crush. And it’s because he was nice to me, when Duncan... And then he was all sad and alone after Lilly... It doesn’t mean anything.” She pauses. “It isn’t anything.”

“Yeah? Here’s what I know. That guy is bad news, so good girls like you should stay far away.” She looks positively livid, and she is preparing to give him hell, he just knows it, so he cuts her off quickly. “The other thing I know is there’s no comparison between you and Lilly.”

She shuts down as quickly as she puffed up, her eyes filling with tears. Whispers, “I know that.”

He feels like an ass. “No, that’s not what I -”

“Just, stop, okay? Just stop.” He reaches for her, to do what he doesn’t know; he’s never been good at comforting. But she evades him easily and jogs down the hallway and out of sight. He doesn’t see her for two days.


	8. Chapter 8

The call comes when he least expects it. He grabs the phone from his grandmother’s hand in the kitchen, and listens as Veronica identifies herself. He’s not going to lie, he’s pretty thrilled that she has decided to keep speaking to him, especially after she cancelled on him Friday. Except for a horrifying moment where he thinks this is where she tells him they’re done, and he has to get a new tutor.

“Can I get a favor?” she asks, softly and sweetly, and Weevil presses the phone to his ear to better hear her over the chaos. 

“Yeah,” he answers. “What do you need?”

“A ride,” she tells him. “Can you come pick me up?”

He’s out the door and on his bike before he can wonder why he’s the one doing this for her. When he gets to her house, she’s already waiting for him outside, her mouth tight and drawn. 

“Thanks for this,” she tells him. “I need you to bring me to Dog Beach.”

He nods and hands her a helmet. “Any particular reason why I’m your chauffeur this evening?”

She purses her lips, and looks away. “If I tell you, do you promise to still take me?”

Alarm bells are ringing all up and down his spine. “Yeah.”

“I have to go get Logan.” She turns back to him, force of the blue eyes knocking him over. Her worry bubbles over. “I have to get him before he does something stupider than getting drunk at the beach.”

He huffs and looks away. “Vee, he’s not your problem.”

He’s amazed at how fast she shutters, how completely she manages to express her disappointment with the lack of a look. “I shouldn’t have told you.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he mutters. “Hop on.”

The ride there is tense. His bike is usually where he’s free. Open road, and all that. There’s no place he’d rather be than on his motorcycle with a hot girl pressed into his back. But not, he thinks sourly, when the hot girl has him wrapped around her innocent little pinkie, and not when the request for his presence is so she can go collect a pretty white boy.

She jumps off once he hits the parking lot. Handing him his helmet with barely a backward glance as she runs off. “Logan?” Her voice carries for a little bit before it gets swallowed by the waves. He trudges bitterly after her.

“Logan?” she cries out again, and Weevil sees a figure bobbing and stumbling along in the distance. He touches her shoulder to get her attention, and points. She inhales, and breathes out, “Logan.”

She walks next to him as they make their way to the guy. Weevil resists the urge to roll his eyes at the sheer grandiosity of Logan Echolls’ break down over his break up.

“Well, if it isn’t sweet little Veronica Mars,” he greets them. “And her trusty pit bull. Oh, wait, this isn’t Back Up. Did you bring the pure bred a friend from the pound?”

Veronica has her hand on his arm before Logan is done, and he looks down at her with derision. “You think your boy’s taunts are going to be enough to make me go apeshit?”

She shrugs. “He excels at getting a reaction.”

“That I do, Ronnie. So tell me, how is our dear miss Lillian Kane? She call you to divulge the latest of my dickless moments? She yawn through repeating my heartfelt confession? She laugh as she recounted how I cried?” Weevil looks from the guy, his face twisted, to the girl next to him, who has gone white. She shakes her head. 

“She just told me where you were. And then I came to get you.”

“Aw,” Logan mocks. “Aren’t you just the best little lap dog?”

“Shut up,” Veronica commands. “Come on.”

“Which is it?” Logan slurs. “Shut up or come on?”

“This isn’t a catch-22. It’s an order. Shut up, and then come on.” Veronica is firm, and Weevil is a little impressed with how she’s handling what Logan is throwing at her. “Weevil, thanks for the ride. I’ve got him from here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Vee,” he reluctantly tells her. It isn’t that he’s getting the distinct feeling he shouldn’t be here for this. He knows he shouldn’t be here for this. This is some kind of farce that probably plays out between the two of them frequently. It’s that he doesn’t want to be here for this, and that fact surprises him. But, he’s not leaving Veronica alone with him.

She turns and gazes pleadingly at him. “Please? He’s easier to handle when he doesn’t have an audience.”

Logan snorts. “You couldn’t handle me if you tried, Ronnie.”

Weevil frowns, shakes his head. “No. You do what you need to. I’m staying right here.”

Logan turns away from him, ignores him completely, and focuses on Veronica. “Just, tell me what I did, Ronica. How can I fix this?”

“I don’t know, Logan. Lilly does her thing, you know she does.” Veronica pauses. “It’s how she is.”

Logan lets out a broken whimper, and falls to the sand. “She’s seeing someone else, you know that? She was seeing him when we were together. Why do I want her back so bad when I know what she does?”

Veronica’s face is all sympathy, and she twists her hands around and around. Weevil shadows her as she moves closer. “I don’t know, Logan. I don’t know why you two play the games you do.”

“This isn’t a game. She’s shredding my heart so she can eat it like the cold hearted bitch she is,” Logan retorts bitterly. Weevil has to work on not reacting to that. “Do you know who it is, Ronnie? Do you know who she’s been fucking?”

“N-no.” Veronica shifts.

For a drunk guy, Weevil thinks, Echolls is pretty perceptive. He watches the guy’s eyes narrow, watches him crawl toward her. He looks amazed, and hurt, and desperate all at the same time. “You know. You know who she’s seeing.”

“No,” Veronica says firmly, and Weevil notes, determinedly not looking in his direction. “I have no idea who Lilly’s seeing now. She hasn’t told me anything. She never told me about anyone else, Logan. I swear.”

“But you know who she was seeing.” Veronica bites her lip. 

“Logan, I don’t -”

“Who was she seeing, Ronnie? Who was she fucking behind my back?” Logan pleads softly as Veronica shakes her head.

It’s barely there, a slight flicker of her eyes in his direction, and Weevil can’t fault her for it. She’s held out for longer than he thought she would, especially since she had told him she was going to tell Echolls anyway. Logan stands up, and looks over at him, enraged.

“What can I say?” he taunts, folding back easily into this other persona. “Looks like your girl needed a little TLC under the hood.”

The guy comes flying at him, fists at the ready, and Weevil gets hit. Hard. Hard enough to go down. So he stands up and grabs Echolls, starts wailing on him. And the thing that Weevil notices, is that the kid continues to fight back. Until he doesn’t. But he doesn’t cry, doesn’t cry out, and laughs like this is some sort of joke. The only people he’s ever seen be able to do that are the ones who are so strung out on meth, they’re more husk than human. And the people so used to dealing with physical pain they don’t even feel it anymore.

Echolls is definitely not a meth head. Which means that it’s door number two, and now Weevil’s feeling worse for the guy than he ever thought he would. He doesn’t stop hitting him though, even though he can hear Veronica’s cries in the distance. He does stop when the salt water hits him in the face.

He sputters, and stares at the tiny thing standing there, child’s bucket in hand. Her face is red, and her chest is heaving, and he doesn’t even want to hospitalize her for potentially ruining his leather jacket. 

“Stop it,” she hisses. “Both of you, just stop.”

Logan coughs at his feet. “You know, toward the end there, I wasn’t doing much.”

Weevil resists the urge to smirk. He’s glad he put in the effort when Veronica whips back around. 

“What is wrong with you?” she cries, near tears, and he actually feels a bit ashamed. “He’s drunk and he’s hurting, and you thought the best thing to do would be to punch him in the face?”

“He came at me, Vee.”

“Oh, boo hoo. Are you telling me that you couldn’t take him down without mashing him into pulp?” For the first time since he’s known her, she looks disgusted with him. “Get out of here, Eli. If I need you to pummel any more people I’m trying to help, I’ll give you a shout.”

“I’m not leaving you, Vee. I saw what he did to Lilly.”

Veronica has turned away from him at this point, is asking Echolls for his keys, and they both turn to him with similar looks of confusion. It’s Veronica who asks, “What?”

“Bruises, Vee. All up and down her arms. On her stomach. You’re so worried about this guy, and he’s hurting your friend.”

She looks horrified at the thought, but not nearly as much as Echolls himself. Vee opens her mouth to answer him, but the kid cuts her off. Forcefully, sincerely, professing, “I would never hurt Lilly. Never.”

He shouldn’t believe it. Echolls is the child of actors; he has to know his way around a lie. But with Veronica half holding him up and them both staring at him, gobsmacked, he thinks he does. He walks over, palms outstretched, and asks Vee if she needs any help. She looks at him for a hard couple of seconds and nods, so he pulls some of the guy’s dead weight off her her and onto himself. 

“Hey,” Logan protests. “Doesn’t anyone want to know how I feel about the gang member who beat the shit out of me and fucked my girlfriend helping me up?”

“No,” Veronica breathes out. “We don’t.”

Weevil laughs at that. Echolls ignores him, turns to her and says, “I’m not going to forget that you knew. Don’t think I will.”

“Logan,” Veronica sighs, “I was going to tell you. I was. I only knew for a few days.”

“Right. You and Lilly weren’t yukking it up at how stupid I was behind my back.”

“Hey,” she snaps,“I would never laugh at you behind your back. I didn’t know. And I did know for about as long as I knew about Yolanda.”

He huffs angrily back. “One kiss. One kiss versus God knows how much fucking.”

“Back off. She didn’t know.” He can’t believe he’s doing this, interjecting himself into a conversation about what he’s done with Echolls’ ex, but he can’t help it. He can’t help that he’s protective of this girl, right here, who looks so fragile and has a hidden toughness.

“You? You don’t get to talk,” Logan tells him.

Veronica huffs. “Neither do you. At least not till we get to the car. Then you can yell at me all you want.”

Logan grumbles at that, and they slowly make their way over the XTerra. He helps Vee deposit the guy in the passenger seat. “You going to be okay with him?”

“Yeah,” she tells him. “Thanks, Weevil. For the ride. And the help getting him back to the car.” She glares at him. “I’m still mad at you for beating him up.”

He laughs. “Yeah, well. I should be mad at you for outing me.”

“I didn’t mean to! I’m just not good with lying.”

Weevil looks back at Echolls. “You think he needs a hospital?”

“No, I don’t think you did that much damage. I should be able to fix him up once we get back to his place.”

“Alright then.” He taps on his helmet. “I guess I’ll see you Monday.” It’s the best way he has to ask if they’re alright still, to see if she’s still willing to tutor him.

“At five. With your pencil.”

With that, there’s no more reason to stay, and a lot of good ones to leave. He waves, and gets on his bike. Waits for her to climb into the XTerra before riding away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, I missed posting this chapter when I first posted the story. It helps explain exactly what's happening to Veronica and Weevil's reaction to it; and because of that, it's fairly important. So, here it is!

He doesn’t talk to Veronica the rest of the weekend; they aren’t friends, really, and only friends call and check up on each other. Especially since he doesn’t check up on anyone. He’s got eyes and ears around for that; and if there’s news, it’ll find its way back to him.

Which is why when he gets to school on Monday, late, he’s surprised by the amount of attention his presence is generating. Finds Felix with Hector and Chardo and Thumper. Felix is practically humming. Before he can even open his mouth to ask what the fuck is going on, Felix grins at him like it’s Christmas morning at a house where the people have money for good presents. “Hey, man, everyone knows about you and Lilly Kane. How you tapped that fine, white ass.”

He stills. He knows what they’re expecting. Some bravado, some killer line. Instead, all he has is dry mouth and the feeling like he just stepped off of the Tilt-o-Whirl ride he swore he was never going on again after barfing all over his cousin at the age of 11. Looks at that same cousin, who takes a step back, before sidestepping Hector and placing himself behind Weevil.

“Man, this is fan-fucking-tastic news,” Chardo tells him as he steers him to the bathroom. “Don’t lose it. And don’t puke in the hallway. It’s a fucking wuss move.”

Chardo kicks out some freshman, and then lets him dry heave for a second before punching him in the shoulder. He throws a responding punch back on instinct. Looks around distractedly and says, “I’ve gotta find Veronica.”

“What is wrong with you, man? Everyone finds out you’re hitting the sweetest honey pot in town, and you’re all worried about the girl’s best friend?” Chardo’s eyes widen. “Oh, I get it. You get the little Sheriff’s bitch of a daughter to give it up to you too?”

When he punches Chardo this time, it’s for real. “Don’t say that. Don’t be spreading that around. Vee and me aren’t anything but friendly.”

Chardo grins at him. “Yeah, friendly.”

Weevil groans, disgusted. Throws his cousin a dirty look before stalking out of the bathroom. The first half of the day passes in a blur of 09er glares and thumbs ups from kids in the hall he swears he never saw before. He’s constantly on the look out for a tiny blonde, but she seems to be as adept at avoiding him as she is at most other things in her life. He catches a glimpse of her, once, bleary eyed and drawn, before she ducks into the girls room. And that’s one place he won’t go to fetch her. He nods distractedly through Hector’s tales of his weekend glories, and barely listens to Felix telling him the best rumors that have been flying around the school until he gets to the part about Veronica Mars getting cast out.

“What?” Weevil gets in his face. “What did you say?”

Felix looks at him, bemused. “I said, the little blonde one isn’t an honorary 09er any more. They kicked her out good and proper.”

“Who kicked her out?” He can’t imagine Lilly would, so it would have to be Echolls. But he can’t see that either, thinking back over cookies and car rides, and what he’s gleaned about their friendship.

“I don’t know, man. It looked like it was pretty much a group thing.” Felix looks even more confused when he groans. “I don’t get you. You should be dancing. You fucked up the 09ers, and you got to fuck one of them to do it. Why do you care about some gringa who’s only hanging around because you’re dumb in math?”

He doesn’t have an answer for Felix, just knows that this is not good. And when he sees her at lunch, sitting by herself, getting pelted with random crap, he wants to fly into a rage and put everyone who is hurting her in a body cast. Goes to do it, too, before realizing that would be a bad move on a couple different levels. It would definitely shore up those rumors that he and Vee were doing the dirty on the side while he was giving it to Lilly.

He’s too busy working out the hows and whys of what he wants to do; and in the time he’s trying to figure it all out, someone else is taking care of it. He’s not going to lie. When the spit balls started flying, he expected Echolls to step in. But he seems to be determinedly ignoring her and her situation. Instead, it’s Norris, a big fucker of a guy Weevil has personally never seen reason to tangle with. He watches the guy take the straw and blow the spit ball back in the offending 09er’s face. Sees Veronica perk up a little, and smile gratefully as Norris smiles a little back. Norris moves on, and he makes his approach.

“Looks like you’ve got all sorts of protectors in every level of this school, blondie,” he tells her as he slides in across from her. She turns her attention to him, surprised.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” They sit silently for a second. She looks better than she had been, and he’s grateful for it. “How you holding up?”

“I don’t know how anyone found out.” She sounds frustrated. “Logan wouldn’t spread it around, for obvious reasons, and Lilly has been fine having it be a secret until now. And they’re both pissed at me that other people know. Well, Lilly’s more pissed that Logan knows, but you know what I mean.” 

“Alright.” He pauses. “But, how are you?”

“I’ll be fine once I figure this out.” She puffs out a bit of breath. “I need to figure this out.”

“Yeah, well, until you do, maybe you want to sit with me and mine instead of out here in the wilds by yourself.”

Her shock is apparent. “You want me to sit with you?”

“Sure.” He shrugs. “Why not?”

“I don’t know, maybe because you and those guys call me the pastel princess?” It’s his turn to be shocked. “Don’t think I don’t know.”

He has the decency to look abashed, and gruffly says, “So?”

“I’ll think about it.” She pauses, and grabs his hand. “But thanks. It means a lot that you’re not avoiding me too.”

He shrugs again. “I’ll walk you to class.”

“Thanks. I’ve gotta stop by my locker, if it’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

The walk back into school is strange. Everyone seems to be waiting for something, for some kind of reaction. He’s not sure what. He glowers as he and Vee pass them. It isn’t until they reach her locker that he gets what all the attention is for. A red “SLUT” is proudly standing out from the yellow of the door, and he can feel himself getting pissed off all over again. Veronica turns white, and then hunches her shoulders forward a bit. Then, like she’s noticing the attention for the first time, she sets her mouth in a hard line and rolls her shoulders back, walks straight and tall and unseeing toward the door. He’s positively busting with pride over her, follows her over.

“You know,” he tells her as she works her combination, not getting it the first two times she tries, “I can have my guys rough up a few people. Find out who did this.”

She shakes her head. “No. It won’t help. Whoever did this was just one out of many. I’ve just gotta deal with it. Until they find something new to chew on.”

She closes the door, and flinches a little at the writing. He makes a note to come back once classes start and clean it up for her. “Let’s get you to class, eh?”

“Yeah. That should be laughs a plenty.” She sighs. “Know what I don’t get? Lilly is the one who has the sex. Logan is the one who is hurt by the sex. How come I’m the one on the sharp end of this stick?”

He hesitates. “You really wanna know?”

“Yeah. I really do.”

“You’re not an 09er. You’re just a girl who got in. They’re wolves, Vee. They’ll tear you to pieces as soon as look at you.” She stares at him. He continues. “You’re problem is, you don’t really fit here. You’re not one of them, but you’re sure as hell not one of us either.”

She laughs lightly. “In a town without a middle class, I’m it.”

He pauses outside her classroom door. “Yeah. Don’t leave class until you see one of my boys, got it?”

She looks stricken. “Weevil, I don’t think they’re going to do anything -”

“Got it?”

Veronica sighs. “Got it.”

“Good. Now, I gotta get to my own class.”

She gives him a smile, and then a quick hug. He’s not sure which one of them is more surprised. “Thanks.”

When he gets back to her locker, he sees some freshman already scrubbing away at the offending paint. “Hey,” he growls. “What are you doing?”

The kid drops the rag. “I-I-I’m cleaning it. Sh-should I not? Are you gonna tape me to the flag pole?”

“Why are you cleaning it?”

The kid looks confused. “Um. Logan Echolls. He paid me to do it. Said that if it wasn’t done before she gets back, that, um, he’ll make sure I never walk right again. But if it was, I’d get another five hundred bucks on top of the two hundred he already gave me.” The kid pauses. “It was easy money.”

“Logan Echolls? You sure?”

The kid nods eagerly. “Yeah, Echolls. Guy I see on the cover of US Weekly all the time. Not-not that I read it or anything.”

Weevil stares at the freshman like he’s from another planet. Hopes that he and his were never like this. “Alright.”

“So...” The kid looks at him, motions to the locker with the rag. “Do I keep -?”

“What do you think?” The kid looks like he’s about to shit himself. “Yes. Keep cleaning it.”

Echolls. There’s a piece to the puzzle he didn’t expect. He doesn’t know what to make of it, if there’s anything to make of it. He risks one more backwards glance at the kid, still scrubbing, before moving on. Thinks back to how easy things were before he adopted a blonde as a protectee, before he decided to really work at this ‘make his grandmother happy’ idea. Before he had to wonder about Logan fucking Echolls shelling out seven hundred bucks just to make life easier for a girl he’s currently ignoring. It was easier when only Lilly was real, out of the 09ers. Before he had to think about who the rest of them were.


	10. Chapter 10

She calls him, again, at his house. He’s hanging out with the guys, killing things on the screen as toddlers and kids of all ages jump over cables and crawl on the floor in front of them, and use them as jungle gyms in their own brand of fun. She had assured him that she was going to be okay, and to just meet her at her house a little after 5, like usual. So, like a chump, he’d gone home. 

It’s Hector who answers the phone, and quickly yells for him to come over. When Weevil asks who it is, he just says, “I don’t know, man, whoever it is is crying pretty hard.”

Which, he realizes, means it can only be one person. “Veronica?”

She is crying, hard. Hector is right. It makes her difficult to understand. All he can get out is something about showers. “Vee, I need you to take some breaths for me, okay. Now, where are you?”

“At the school,” she sobs out. “Someone took all my clothes. They took all my clothes.”

He feels a little dumb, but he has to ask, “How?”

“In the showers, after Pep Squad,” she chokes out. “I thought it was just a prank, but I found them in the toilet. They’re ruined, and I don’t have any - anything else to wear.”

His mind goes where it shouldn’t, but he’s sixteen, and she’s cute, and right now she’s naked somewhere and he’s who she called. He redirects it by focusing on the fact that she called him for reasons other than a booty call. She’s not voluntarily naked. This is just another fucked up thing the 09ers are putting her through today for some made up sin, so it is not sexy. At all. “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Just - stay there. I’m going to get some clothes, and then I’m coming to get you.”

“Okay. Hurry. Please.” 

“I’m hanging up, and heading out.”

He does, and scrounges around for clothing that is clean, and won’t kill her when he takes her home on his bike. The guys look on, confused. It’s Felix who asks, “What are you doing?”

“They fucked with Veronica again,” he says as explanation. “She’s stuck at the school, so I’m grabbing some stuff and heading over to get her.”

“No, man, what are you doing?” Weevil stops and looks up. “What are you getting out of this? You made it clear you’re not getting into her pants. Hanging with her hasn’t stopped the Sheriff from coming after us. So, what’s the deal?”

He stops. “She’s helping me with my math.”

“Because it’s her job, man. She’s one of those school tutors. It’s not about you. So why you making it about her?”

He doesn’t really know how to explain it, how to tell them that he thinks they might be becoming something like friends. “I’m not gonna become her beck and call guy. She just needs help, and I’m who she’s asking. I’m not going to leave her hanging if she really needs something.”

Chardo laughs at him. “Hombre, you are so whipped, and you’re not even getting the good stuff.”

Weevil makes a face, but can’t deny it. Tells Chardo to stay with the kids. Gets the clothes he’s found bundled up and in his bag, and then takes off for the school. He’s speeding, not stopping at stop signs, the whole nine yards. He doesn’t even know what he’d say if he got stopped. ‘I’m racing to the Sheriff’s naked daughter’ doesn’t seem like the most appropriate excuse ever. 

He makes it in record time, and walks inside the school like he belongs there. It occurs to him that he’s not sure where Veronica is. Then again, he reflects, there’s really only one place she could be.

He never thought he’d be nervous going anywhere, but walking into the girls’ locker room when the only inhabitant he knows about is a crying wreck is making him a bit jittery.

“Veronica?” he calls out. “Where are you?”

He hears her sniffling echo along the walls. She steps out from between two rows of lockers, and pitifully says, “Here.”

Her hair is dry, and she’s wound a towel tightly around her body. If it weren’t for her face being blotchy and her eyes being puffy and red, Weevil thinks he would have enough fodder for about a hundred wet dreams. He holds out the bag. “Here. I don’t have anything that’s gonna fit you. Sorry.”

“No, it’s great,” she tells him as she takes it from him. “I just need something so I can get home.”

She slumps toward the showers, and he’s alone in the main part. “Who was supposed to take you home?”

“Lilly,” her voice wafts back to him, distorted. “She usually drives me. I didn’t know what was happening until I got to school today. And then, I kind of... ...hoped she’d be over it by time practice was over, so I didn’t think to call my mom and have her come. Good thing she didn’t.”

She walks back, jeans puddling around her feet, and his shirt coming to her knees. She’s holding onto the waistband in a valiant effort to keep everything on. He smirks at her. “Don’t you look precious.”

She gives a little hiccup laugh in return, and shuffles over to him. He envelops her in a hug. She nuzzles down into him. “I just - they were my friends. I thought we were friends.”

“Lilly didn’t say anything about them doing this?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t even know if Lilly was here for it. I mean, I didn’t hear anything when I went to shower, and Lilly was gone by the time I got out.” She pulls back away from him. “I can’t believe she’d do this to me. She’s my best friend.”

He doesn’t say anything about Lilly. There’s nothing to say. Either she knew, or she didn’t. Either she helped, or she didn’t. He steps back. “Come on. Let’s get you to your closet, so I can get you out of mine.”

She nods, bends down to roll up the pant legs, and knots up the side of his shirt so it’s a little more form fitting. A little too form fitting, actually. Without thinking about it, he takes off his jacket and swings it over her, covering her chest. She looks confused at his chivalry, and he’s not sure if it’s the chivalry itself, or that she doesn’t understand why he’s doing it. He hopes it’s the first one, because if she doesn’t know the effect she has on guys, he’s in for one hell of a ride with her.

They walk back to his bike mostly silently, her arms crossed in front of her, completely engulfed by his clothes. When they pass her locker, she points to it and breaks the peace. “I meant to ask you, did you do that?”

He could lie, and take the credit. Or he could tell the truth and give her something to hold on to other than him. “Nah. I was going to. When I dropped you, I was doubling back to do it myself. But some freshman I’ve never seen was doing it already.” He pauses, watching her face scrunch up at the news. “Echolls was paying him to.”

He knows the second it hits her, because her face lights up, confused hope dancing across her visage. “Logan?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” She falls silent again. He lets her. As much of a roller coaster as his day was, hers was worse. When they get to his bike, she clambers on, and clings to him tightly, even when she doesn’t need to. He doesn’t say anything, but he knows this is why he does it, why he’s been coming when she asks. Why he cares. The gang is his family, but the politics are always fluid. His family depends on him to get by. The girls he’s with like him fine, but he’s always play acting tough or living comfortable in the knowledge that it isn’t just him that brings them around. But Veronica Mars isn’t anything like that. She’s easy to be around, because she’s not looking for him to be anything other than what he is. She doesn’t judge him, doesn’t need him, and doesn’t use him. She calls him because she wants him around; because she trusts him. 

He drops her at her house, getting a promise that she’ll have his stuff back to him tomorrow. Hands him back his jacket, and walks to the front door of her house and inside. There’s no one home yet, but he feels comfortable leaving her there. Anyway, he’s got at least one more stop to make before he can go home.


	11. Chapter 11

Weevil walks into the Echolls house like he belongs, like he’s been there before for more than just picking his grandmother up from work; and he supposes he has. Just, this time, he’s without the blonde passport he’s always had with him before.

He walks with purpose up the stairs to Logan’s room, and opens the door with a bang. He gets a certain amount of satisfaction from the way the guy jumps. 

“What the -? Oh, I didn’t realize pool boys got delivered this days. Trina’s room is down and to the right,” he sneers.

“I was just at the high school,” Weevil tells him. “Got a call from a naked blonde.”

“And how is our precious Lilly doing this fine afternoon?” Logan asks, flopping onto the bed like he hasn’t a care.

Weevil smirks. “It was a different blonde. Bakes you snickerdoodles. Makes you baskets.”

Logan sits up so fast Weevil’s not sure he didn’t give himself whiplash. “What? Veronica? No, she wouldn’t.”

“She wouldn’t, if all of her clothes hadn’t been stolen and flushed down a toilet,” he says.

That doesn’t make the occupant of the room any happier. “What?”

“That stupid pep squad deal, some of the girls stole her clothing. Made it so she couldn’t wear anything.”

“She okay? Why didn’t she call me?”

Weevil steps closer to the guy. “Maybe because someone has been an asshole to her all day. I don’t know what your problem with Vee is, and I don’t give a shit. You have two options: get your 09ers to back off, or I will.”

He has to hand it to the guy, he looks furious. “I’ll handle it. I can’t believe they’d do that to her.”

“Really. After the locker, you can’t believe they’d escalate.”

Logan dismisses the idea with a wave of his hand. Weevil wants to pound him into the ground. “I took care of that already. Told the guys to knock it off.”

“Paid a freshman to undo what they did, instead of making your friends do it. Or by being a man, and dealing with it yourself.”

Logan scoffs. “Please.”

“You’re the reason she’s getting treated like this, you and Lilly. You made it open season on Mars.”

“And I bet you gave Lilly this exact talk. After you fucked her, I mean.”

“Haven’t seen her yet. I thought I’d go to you first. Seeing how you put yourself in the middle of Veronica’s business with me all the time, I thought maybe you’d be more interested in this, when she’s actually getting hurt.”

Logan looks down, sullen. “I’m still pissed at her. She’s still a bitch.”

“I don’t care,” Weevil grinds out. “I have no fucking interest in your life. She’s your friend, she’s not your friend, doesn’t matter to me. As long as people stop fucking with her, I’m set.”

Logan nods, and he heads toward the door. 

“Hey,” he calls out to Weevil. “Thanks. For watching out for her. She’s delicate.”

“You and Lilly, man, maybe you do deserve each other. Because you don’t see Vee at all.” He leaves, grateful to get the last word, and gets back on his bike.

It’s easier getting into the Kane Mansion than it is the Echolls’, probably because software millionaires attract less stalkerish fangirls than the movie stars do. Also, he’s been taught how. He gets up to Lilly’s room with little effort.

“Hello, lover,” she purrs when she finds him. Crawls across the bed and makes her way to where he’s leaning on the wall.

Not here on pleasure,” he gruffly tells her, grabbing her hands to keep them at bay. “I just got back from rescuing your best friend.”

Lilly pulls back, wrinkles her nose. “Veronica? Veronica Mars? What did she need rescuing from?”

“Your pep squad,” he tells her, and decides to leave it at that. “So, here’s what I don’t get, and you may have to break it down for me. You tell me that it’s our job to keep her safe, and then suddenly it’s only me working at that.”

Lilly harrumphs. “She pissed me off, okay? She had no right telling Logan that. She’s my best friend. Mine. She’s supposed to care about me.”

Weevil pushes them back from against the wall. “She didn’t tell him, Lilly. He figured it out. I was there.”

“And that’s another thing,” Lilly continues. “She’s calling you for favors. Why?”

“I don’t know. Why, you wanted to drive her to get your ex?”

She sighs and flops dramatically on her bed, and he’s unwillingly reminded of Echolls. “No. I just - she’s pulling away from me.” Picks at a string. “I half think she wanted to tell Logan about you and me so she could have him.” Looks back at him. “Crazy, right? Like I care who he sleeps with.”

“Do you?”

Lilly looks at him, soft and thoughtful. For once, she’s not moving at a speed faster than light. It’s just her, and him. “Only in the way that I’ve had him, and I don’t want him getting over me. It’s more, Veronica.”

Weevil shakes his head. “I don’t get you.”

“Well, of course you don’t. I’m fabulous. I’m ungettable. Literally. No one can get me, no one can catch me. I’m free, and I like it that way.” She rolls her eyes at him. “But I have Veronica. And it was good when she was with Duncan, because then she was always around; even when it wasn’t for me, she was still with me. But now, Dorkus is off playing house or whatever with my cast offs and I’m being fabulous by myself.”

“You’re jealous. Because Logan gets Veronica.”

“Duh.” Lilly crosses her arms. The room grows quiet. He sighs.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, but what you’re doing means you don’t get Vee. I’m not going to stop helping her, so you can figure out what to do for yourself.” Pushes himself off the wall, and goes to the window.

“Eli,” she calls out, breathy and morose, “you’re picking her over me?”

Weevil stops and stares at her. “You’re hurting her. You stop doing that, and I don’t have to figure out which one of you I like more.”

He watches as she shifts. “I’m not going to stop being mad at her for leaving me,” she sullenly says.

“You and fucking Echolls both,” he responds, hoisting himself out the window, “treating this like this is her mess instead of yours and mine. I hope she’s done with both of you.”

He gets home, and ignores the teasing and calls from the guys, asking him if he got his hair braided and whether he thinks they’re autumns or springs. Picks up the phone and dials her number. Barely waits for her to say hello before he tells her, “I’m picking you up for school tomorrow. Make sure the sheriff knows it.”

“Weevil, what -”

He cuts her off before she can object too much. “Don’t fight with me on this. I’m picking you up. We’re going to school.”

“Okay.” She pauses. “Thanks.”

He gives the phone a small smile. “You’re welcome.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Felix is standing behind him. “What’s going on, vato?”

“I figured out why I’m helping her. And I’m not going to stop. I don’t know what the 09ers are going to do, what kind of shit they’re going to pull or if they’ll back off. But if they mess with her, they mess with us. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it.” Felix looks at him. “You like this girl?”

Weevil smiles. “Yeah. But not like you think.”

“Alright.” Felix pauses. “You wanna talk, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” Weevil tells him. “But I think I’m good.”


	12. Chapter 12

He pulls up in front of the sheriff’s house, and the first thing he sees is the man himself standing at the head of the driveway. Weevil pretty much saw that coming. He dismounts, and walks up the rest of the way to greet him.

“Sheriff.” He’s never been too great at talking to parents.

Sheriff Mars gives him a level look. “Eli.”

“Is Veronica ready?”

The sheriff cracks the barest smile. “She’ll be ready once I’ve put the fear of God into her latest suitor.”

“Well, when’s he gonna show up? Because me and Vee have to get to school at some point.” Being smart with the guy with the gun and the law on his side is probably not the best move, but Weevil is pretty sure making it clear he’s not there to violate the only born of that guy is. 

He does look surprised. “Are you saying that you don’t have any designs on my daughter?”

He shakes his head. “Just giving her a ride. Sir.”

“And the fact that she washed what I can only assume were your clothes last night means what, exactly?”

Weevil hesitates. “What’d she say to you about it?”

Vee’s father crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. Weevil’s been on the wrong side of this particular interrogation tactic before. It has an alarming success rate. “That you were helping her out.”

“Yeah, I was.” Stands his ground. Offers nothing else up.

“Eli,” the sheriff says slowly, “if there’s something happening involving my daughter, I want you to tell me.”

He shakes his head. “Sorry, I can’t. If she wants you to know, she’ll fill you in.”

The man grimaces. “She’s gotten to you. Her hair flips and head tilts have gotten to you. My powers of intimidation are nothing compared to those.”

“Those, and the eyes,” Weevil agrees. “But don’t worry. I’ve got her back.”

“I can’t tell you how reassuring I find that to be,” he says drily. “Ah, well. I’ll release her to you. And Eli? I can’t tell you how happy I am at this moment that you have a motorcycle.”

He nods, confused. “Okay.”

Veronica comes out a few minutes later, looking apologetic. “Hey, I’m really sorry about that. I tried to explain that we were just friends, but...”

“Don’t worry about it. Just, what was that last thing, about my ride?”

She shrugs helplessly. “He says that at least he doesn’t have to worry about us skipping school and going to Make Out Point to fool around in the backseat of your car.”

Weevil cracks a grin. “Your dad may be the only guy in the history of the world to see the upside in his daughter riding off on the back of a bike.”

She smiles sweetly. “Well, being able to rationalize these things helps him sleep at night. Let’s a-get moving. We’re going to be late if we hang here any longer.”

He hands her the helmet, climbs on the bike, and waits for her to get situated behind him. Before he pulls away, he notices that there’s only the Sheriff’s car in the driveway. 

By the time they get to school, that tidbit has slipped his mind. Veronica helped it slip his mind by handing him his clothing back as they walked toward the school, with a, “Oh, before I forget” slipped in. He sees the knowing looks of some of the students who witnessed the exchange, and inwardly groans. Wonders how a girl this smart can be this naive. 

Echolls spots the whole thing go down, too, and Weevil’s not imagining how his face darkens. It makes him a little happier about dropping in on the guy the night before, because at least now Echolls knows why Veronica is handing him clothing; at least now, he’s angry about the right thing, not the wrong thing. He marches over to them.

“Can I talk to you?” he asks Veronica, looming down over her, pulling at his sleeves.

Vee pushes her hair back. “Sure.”

“Alone?” Logan pushes, sparing a glance for Weevil.

She looks between the two of them. “Oh, uh, okay.” 

She walks a couple of feet away with him, into the enclave created by a closed classroom door, and motions that he can move on. He doesn’t. Watches them from the short distance away, and sees Veronica’s face go from guarded to hopeful, to disappointed, and back to hopeful again. Watches Echolls touch her shoulder, pull her close, and then walk away. Vee glides her way back to him, looking a little teary.

“What was that?” Weevil asks, pretty sure he already knows.

“He said he heard about what happened yesterday, that he was sorry someone did that.” She looks pensive. “He says he’s still mad at me, but that he doesn’t want anything to happen because of that. He wants me to tell him if any of the 09ers pull anything else. He said no one’s allowed to touch me.”

“Good,” he says. He’s got nothing else to offer.

Veronica walks on. “He said that we’re still friends, but that he doesn’t want to be around me right now. Do you think that he’ll get over it soon?”

Weevil shrugs. “Don’t know. Why?”

“Well, it’s not like I have a lot of friends,” she tells him. His disbelief must be plastered to his face because she says, “No, it’s true. The only people I ever hang out with outside of school are Lilly and Logan and Duncan. And I don’t hang out with Duncan, since he stopped talking to me, and Lilly didn’t really seem interested in hanging out with me even before all this, so that left Logan. And now...”

He ignores the part about Lilly. Doesn’t want to touch the mess of the girls’ friendship with any length of pole. “What about all the other sheeple?”

She snorts. “They’re not really that into me. Meg’s nice. I can try hanging out with her more. But she’s dating Cole and cheerleading and babysitting, so that takes up a lot of her time.”

“Sounds like you could use some new friends,” he tells her. She nods.

“I’ll get right on that. But first, class.”

“Sounds good,” Weevil tells her. “Unless you were looking to go to Make Out Point.”

She looks up at him, all innocent like. “What about the fact that you have a motorcycle?”

He steps closer to her, grinning. “Doesn’t take much to hotwire a car. You pick out the prettiest one in the lot, I’ll boost it. Just make sure it’s got a lot of leg room.”

She gasps. “You’d do all that for little old me?”

“Baby, I’d do a lot more,” Weevil promises, winks. 

She bumps him with her hip as the bell rings. “Shoot! Missed our shot. See you later, Weev.”

He doesn’t have to tell her that he doesn’t think they ever had a shot in the first place.


	13. Chapter 13

Things go smooth for a couple of days. Veronica eats her lunch with him and his boys. She manages to wrangle them all under whatever magic she’s already gotten him entangled in, like he assumed she would. She giggles when they hit on her, laughs at their jokes, and - as it turns out when Chardo says something particularly dirty to Weevil about her - understands Spanish perfectly. It’s kind of perfect, really, how this tiny, innocent girl with a heart the size of something really huge has fallen so easily into their gang of people with hearts the size of things considerably smaller. The only problem she has is that she basically believes anything anyone tells her. Which, because of the previous magic, no one really abuses.

Echolls, he notices, has begun sitting a couple of tables away, with his faithful pack of blond surfer guy and the guy’s younger brother. He watches them intently, and a lot; but he never strays too far from the path. Doesn’t make eye contact with her, doesn’t talk to her except hi’s and bye’s.

What Echolls does continue to do is send over lunch, and he and his boys enjoy the fruits of Veronica’s continued, if exiled, 09er status with relish. Hector even toasts Echolls with an egg roll one day. He answers it with flourish, a half seated bow and sardonic smile.

So Weevil picks her up, drives her home, sits with her at lunch, and lets her go off on her own for the hours in between. The rumors Felix loves to tell him are that he and Blondie are an item now that she’s been booted by her camp, and that she likes to do all the dirty things with him Lilly wouldn’t. Which is a laugh, if any one of them actually knew Lilly. He’d been worried that it would hurt her, but she either doesn’t hear them or doesn’t care. Echolls stalking the halls and staring down the person or people he finds talking about it probably helps her not care, even if it doesn’t help the rumor part.

So, it’s a surprise how, on day four of their little system, she mixes it up by sending her father out to tell him she’s not coming to school.

“What’s wrong with her?” he demands.

The sheriff sighs. “Remember when we used to have that relationship built on mistrust and avoidance? Remember how you would nod at me and then walk in the other direction, and I would pray to whatever god who would hear me that you wouldn’t end up in the back of a cop car that week? I miss those days.”

Weevil glares at him. “Yeah, those were the salad days. What’s wrong with Vee?”

Sheriff Mars sighs, and Weevil can’t help but notice he looks older. Worn out. And yet, if the gleam in his eye is any marker, about to say something particularly amusing, if only to himself. “What was it you told me, earlier in the week? Oh, yeah. If she wants to tell you, she’ll fill you in. Have a good day in school, Eli.”

He frowns as the sheriff walks slowly back to the house. Looks around absently, and notices - again - Mrs. Mars’ car. More precisely, the lack of Mrs. Mars’ car. Well, that’s something to shake a stick at. 

When he gets to the school parking lot, Echolls accosts him almost immediately, demanding to know where Veronica is.

“Oh, I forgot her today. Sorry, you’ll have to find another blonde to follow with puppy dog devotion.”

“You’re one to talk. Methinks you hath caught the affliction of the fondness for the blondes that polluteth me as well.”

“What the fuck are you on?” Weevil demands.

Logan sighs, kicks a rock. “We’re doing Shakespeare in English, man. You’d know if you would ever show up for the class. Anyway, Ronnie. Where is she?”

Weevil sighs. “Don’t know. Her dad gave me the boot.”

The other guy nods approvingly. “Finally.”

“Because she wasn’t coming to school today. He wouldn’t tell me why. I don’t know, maybe she’s on a trip with her mom or something.”

Echolls’ face gets a certain kind of gleam Weevil’s sure isn’t good. Says with forced casualness, “Why do you say that?”

Weevil shrugs, feels like he’s walking into something big, but can’t see what it could be. “Her car wasn’t there. It usually is.” He pauses. “It wasn’t there a couple of days ago either, though, so Vee’s probably just home. She’s probably sick, and the sheriff’s just messing with me.”

By the time he’s done talking, Echolls is gone, running back to his car. He watches as the guy peels out of the parking lot, and turns in the direction of Vee’s house. Even with the ridiculous amount of shake ups and general weirdness, that reaction is something that gets Weevil’s attention. 

He sighs, and looks toward the school. He has a test in his math class, the one that brought Vee into his life in the first place, and he doesn’t want to miss it. Doesn’t want to deal with her disappointed face if he misses it. On the other hand, whatever is potentially going down in Vee’s life is so big, it made Echolls run off before finishing their conversation with the wittiest insult he could come up with. 

If it’s a problem, Echolls won’t be back, he decides. If it’s not a problem... There’s where it gets tricky, because Echolls could easily not come back anyway. He deflates a little, before figuring out what he needs to do.

He corners Lilly at her locker, and she looks at him with a certain amount of distain. “Tired of the less accomplished blonde already?”

“More like worried.” It’s pretty funny to see how Lilly reacts to that. Almost a week of playing pretend, and suddenly she’s all fight and fury over something happening to Veronica.

“What? Why are you worried?” She gets close to him. “Weevil, what’s going on?”

He looks around. “I don’t know. It’s just, Logan took off for her place when I told him -”

“Told him what?”

“Vee’s mom’s car is gone. And she’s not in school today.”

Lilly scrunches up her face. “Oh. I thought there was a real problem.”

“What would the not real problem be?” Wheedling information out of people isn’t his forte, but he’s willing to try. Lilly’s attention has once again been absorbed by her locker.

“Veronica’s mom...” Lilly leans closer, gets quieter. “She drinks. Logan’s all over it, because his mom does too. He’s like, all sensitive to it or whatever.”

“And you’re not,” he states. It doesn’t surprise him. Veronica was right when she said Lilly does what Lilly is going to do. Lilly cares what Lilly decides to care about.

“Not overly,” she tells him. “It sucks for her, but it would suck for her more if we all rushed in and did the comforting thing. She doesn’t really like being the center of attention. Especially about something like this.”

“Like what?”

Lilly pauses, and then closes her locker to lean on it. Weevil would bet that to the casual onlooker, this looks like just another normal conversation. “Veronica likes her world the way she likes her world. Ordered. She doesn’t do well with surprises. She doesn’t like changes. It’s just not who she is.”

“And when there’s a big change, shouldn’t you, as the girl’s best friend, be there for her?”

Lilly sighs. “Being the best friend means knowing when it’s time to step in and when it’s time to let it ride out. Logan’s over there now. He can take care of it. For now. Just - go to class, Weevil. Veronica doesn’t need you.”

Weevil goes to class. Goes to English. Sits there, and keeps an eye out for Echolls. When he doesn’t show, he rolls on into math. He’s pretty sure he’s failed his test, with how distracted he is. Hopes he hasn’t, because that’s just one more thing to deal with later. After he hands it in, he walks out of the classroom and out of the building. Hops on his bike, and races back to the Mars residence.


	14. Chapter 14

The sheriff’s car is gone; which, in Weevil’s book, is a good thing. When he knocks, it’s a blotchy and teary Veronica who answers. 

“Hey,” she greets weakly. “I swear, I’m usually not this much of an emotional basketcase. I go whole weeks, months even, without breaking down like this.”

He smiles. “It’s cool.” Coughs. “Uh, can I come in?”

She nods, and walks back into the house. Echolls is there, eyes dark and face drawn up in worry. “Weevil.”

He nods a return greeting. He’s not sure how he and Echolls decided that the setting for their interactions should be set firmly on ‘truce’, but right now he can’t complain. “So, what’s going on?”

Veronica gives him a teary sort of smile. “My mom’s gone. Took off. She left me this note, and a music box.” Turns to Echolls. “I haven’t liked unicorns since I was like, 13.”

Logan nods. “I remember.”

Weevil feels completely lost. He guesses that’s a natural reaction when unicorns spontaneously make their way into conversations with people who are over the age of six. “What do you mean ‘took off’?”

Vee curls up on the couch, snuggled in against an armrest. Hugs a pillow. “I don’t know,” she tells him. “She was gone the beginning of the week, because my dad wanted -” she pauses. “He wanted her to think about getting some treatment. She, uh, she drinks. And it’s been getting... It’s been getting kind of bad.” Logan walks over and sits on the floor in front of the couch, a seat cushion over. She sniffles in his direction, speaks more to him now than to Weevil. “So, it wasn’t great, you know, but we knew where she was supposed to be.”

Weevil searches out a tissue box. He thinks it’s lucky he’s been in this house so often recently that he knows where one should be. Thinks that if he hadn’t been in this house so often recently, it’s unlikely he would be here now, so the whole thing’s kind of a wash. He hands her the box. “Here.”

“Thanks. Anyway, my dad got a call last night from the place. The facility. She just left. And, he wasn’t going to tell me, but she came in the house and left me the note and the music box in my room. Next to my bed.”

“How’d she get in past Backup?” Logan asks softly. They all turn to look at the pit bull, who turns and looks back at them.

“Backup’s just barely not a puppy,” she defends. “He lets you guys in too. Anyone who he thinks is family is cool. It’s how we’re training him.” She huffs. “Didn’t want him ripping pieces out of random people who live here, or who I bring home.”

“I bet your dad is training Backup to rip pieces out of anyone you bring home,” Logan teases, and she gifts him with a smile.

“I’m working on counter training. You’re helping.”

“Done,” Logan agrees.

“No, Lo.” Veronica looks a little devilish. “I mean, you’ve been helping. Without knowing.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s against all kinds of ethical rules,” he gripes.

“Are you missing any parts? No. So, it’s cool.”

They both stop smiling at the same time. Weevil walks over and perches on the armrest nearest her. “You know,” Logan says slowly. “My mom’s been in a rehab facility or two. Disguised as a premiere and exclusive getaway resort, of course.” Veronica murmurs a “course” back. He catches her hand before it can pat him on the shoulder. Weevil notices that he doesn’t let it go. “Sometimes, it’s good if they leave. If it’s not the one that’s going to help them, it can hurt them more.”

Veronica sniffles and looks up at Weevil above her. “Don’t look at me, Vee,” he tells her. “My family isn’t rich enough to get rehab. You get on the juice, you either kick it yourself, or you die on it.”

She nods. “Right. Sorry.”

He wants to tell her not to be, that it’s just life. What opportunities you have, what second chances you’re granted, is pretty much dependent on where you live. Who you are. What color your skin is. His neighborhood just happens to draw every short straw in the pack. 

He wants to tell her not to be, that she’s dealing with enough crap right now to even begin feeling sorry that the first thing is true. But instead he just shrugs. “It is what it is, Vee.”

She glances at the clock. “You guys should head back to the school. You shouldn’t be skipping just because I’m a wreck.”

Logan scoffs. “You think I’m skipping because of you? Nah, I decided to take today off before I even knew about your drama.”

“Yeah, Vee. Same for me. Don’t go thinking you’re special.”

“Okay. I won’t.” She uses the hand not being held by Echolls to tug on his arm as she shimmies down the couch, simultaneously pulling on Logan to get up with the other. He slides down as she makes room, and Logan gets off the floor and sits on the remaining section. Vee lets out a sad sigh and leans back, slowly slouching toward Echolls. “What are we going to do with ourselves?”

“I’m thinking, theme: movies that have bad parents. Funny ones,” Echolls answers. Veronica snorts. “Starting with the creme de la creme, Grosse Pointe Blank, followed by Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. With maybe a showing of Crazy in Alabama, if we’re up for it.”

She nods. “Sounds good to me. Weevil?”

“I’m good for it,” he agrees. “Never seen Grosse Pointe Blank. Or Crazy in Alabama.”

“Well,” Echolls drawls, “that’s a travesty we’re going to have to correct.”

Hours and three movies later, when the sheriff gets home, Weevil is in the middle of an argument with Echolls about his classification of Crazy in Alabama. Veronica is following along in amusement.

“Hey, Dad,” she greets distractedly as Logan says, “It’s a comedy, about a woman who cuts off her husband’s head with an electric turkey carver, so she can go across country with it in a hat box and be on Bewitched.”

“Hi, honey,” the Sheriff says back. “What’s going on here?”

Weevil barely hears Veronica’s “the guys came over to check on me, and are now fighting about the choices Logan makes” before he responds, “No way, man. It’s a drama about the Civil Rights Movement in 1960s Alabama. I can’t even believe you think Melanie Griffith’s storyline is the A-plot. Or that Taylor is so insignificant you can toss him being murdered aside to see it as a comedy!”

“You’re just mad that we saw you crying,” Logan retorts. “At a comedy.”

“Something flew in my eye, asshole. And it’s a drama.”

“Well,” Sheriff Mars breaks in, clasping Weevil on the shoulder, “if you boys are done cheering up my daughter, would you like to stay for dinner? Nothing fancy, just take out.”

Logan looks furious. “Sure, that’d be great. You’ve seen Crazy in Alabama, right?”

The sheriff looks bemused. “Yeah, that’s my DVD you’re waving about.”

“Comedy or drama?”

Weevil looks at him expectantly. “I think the argument can go either way; and even though I only caught the tail end of yours, it looks like you’ve both made decent points. Eli gets extra credit for crying -”

“I didn’t -”

“But,” he continues, ignoring Weevil’s interruption, “I think you both are ignoring the possibility that it is a dramedy. Combination comedy and drama.” He walks off toward his bedroom. “The world isn’t black and white, kids! Gotta learn about those ever important shades of grey!”

“Right on, Daddio,” Veronica yells to him. “We’re getting Indian, right?”

“No,” her dad calls back. “Because you love your father, and you don’t want him to be battling heartburn all night. I’ll let you order Chinese, but that’s as far into Asia as we’re exploring, got it?”

“And that,” Logan tells him, “is how she manipulates the situation so that she gets Chinese.”

Weevil looks at him. “She didn’t want Indian.”

“She likes naan. And she’s big on some of the curries. But no. She wanted Chinese.” Weevil looks impressed. Logan grins. “She’s a little trickster when she decides she wants something. Watch out. She’ll head tilt and puppy dog eye you to death.”

“Where were you with this information weeks ago, man?” Weevil asks. “I’m already a goner.”

Echolls shrugs. “Trying to figure out who was sleeping with my girlfriend, other than me.”

“Yeah, well.” Weevil shrugs.

“I’m still pissed about it,” he tells Weevil. “It’s not something I’m just going to get over. But, I love Lilly. And Lilly loves guys.” He looks down. “I don’t know. It’ll at least make it easier.”

“Make what easier?”

“To move on.”

Echolls isn’t looking at him anymore. He’s gazing at Vee, as she rifles through a drawer full of take out menus. Even if he were an idiot - and, with the exception of math, he’s not - he’d be able to tell exactly who Echolls was looking to move on with. Weevil thinks that maybe training Backup not to bite him was a mistake. Looks at Vee as she excitedly waves the right menu at Logan. Or, a brilliant move on her part. He knows which side he comes down on.


	15. Chapter 15

The next week brings a new shift in the tectonic plates of the school’s social world. Logan pulls Vee back into the trajectory of the 09ers, and she happily follows him. But she starts alternating where she eats her lunch, joining him and his with her powder blues and light pinks for no other reason than she wants to. Weevil wants a picture of it from a distance. 

Logan spends those days at the table he’s claimed near them, with a few 09ers joining him, and then a few more. Lilly’s not among them. Weevil doesn’t know where she is, or why she’s chosen now to completely pull back from Vee. He resents her for it, though, because he allows himself to resent her on Vee’s behalf in a way he won’t for himself.

All in all, he has to say, it’s a pretty sweet existence. His guys rib on her when they’ve gotten pinched, she scolds them for doing things that get them pinched, and the 09ers and PCHers have a bit of a lull in aggressions. It’s too good to last more than a few weeks.

Lilly waltzes into Veronica’s house on a Friday, leaving Weevil to idly ponder why the world liked to mess with Vee on Fridays in particular. Echolls’ beach breakdown, her mother, and now Lilly.

“Hey, BFF,” she calls to Veronica, ignoring Echolls on the couch gaping at her and Weevil at the table glaring at her over his math textbooks. “We need to talk.”

Veronica drops Backup’s kibble dish, and it clangs as bits of kibble scatter everywhere. Backup looks at the kitchen floor, and then back up at Weevil, practically begging for the command that will set him upon the floor like a doggie vacuum. “Vee? Should I -”

“No,” she grinds out. “Backup, stay.” The dog whines his discontent. Weevil thinks everyone else in the house besides Lilly may be on the same page. She grabs the dustbuster, and starts sucking up all the kibble. Backup whimpers. “Lilly, what are you doing here?”

“Just, you know.” Lilly’s eyes are wide and she tries for nonchalant. “I wanted to hang. Life’s been lacking without you.”

Logan snorts. Weevil continues to glare. Backup continues mourning the death of his kibble.

“You’re the one who stopped talking to me, remember?”

“Yeah, I know. But I’ve got a secret. A good one. And I’m tired of keeping it, Veronica. I want to tell you.” She grabs Veronica’s arm and pulls her to the living room. Veronica lets herself be pulled. Weevil refills Backup’s bowl with kibble, gives him the go ahead, and follows. “In fact, I don’t see the good of not telling you, and I’m kind of pissed off I ever let myself get talked into that part in the first place. So, tell the guys to jet, and we can do girl talk.” She settles onto the couch. Looks at Veronica expectantly. 

“What? No. You can’t decide to dump your secrets on me after you’ve been pissed about me finding out about Weevil. A secret you kept from me,” Veronica tells her, but she’s twisting her hands and looks like she really wants it to be that Lilly can just be pissed and then decide to be not pissed, and let everything go.

Logan offers his solidarity in the form of shoving Lilly from his seat on the couch and saying, “Yeah.” Weevil just crosses his arms and continues his marathon glare. 

Lilly rolls her eyes at them all, but focuses her attention on Veronica. “Look, I wasn’t not talking to you because of Weevil, okay? I don’t care about that. It just... It got too hard, being in the middle of you and Duncan, knowing why you guys broke up and not being able to tell you.”

Veronica grasps her hands. “Lilly, you know why he dumped me?” Weevil spares a glance for Logan, who looks both intrigued and unsettled at the same time.

Lilly shifts uncomfortably. “Yeah, I do. And I want to tell you. But I think I should tell only you.”

“What?”

“Logan and Weevil should leave,” Lilly tells her. Veronica looks aghast. “I wouldn’t have come over today if I had remembered that Weevil was supposed to be here.”

“No. Lilly, no. Logan has stood by me since the beginning, and Weevil has been here for almost as long, and he doesn’t even have a reason to be!” Lilly shakes her head. “Lilly, I’m going to tell them anyway, so they may as well be here when you spill the beans.”

“You might not want them to know,” Lilly cautions. She looks genuinely concerned. Veronica looks downright fierce.

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“No, you didn’t. It has nothing to do with you, I swear. I just -” Lilly shrugs helplessly. “I don’t think you’re going to want a whole lot of people to know, is all.” Veronica stares her down. “Ugh, okay, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, Veronica Mars. Don’t tell me later that this was a mistake.”

She stands up. Veronica jumps up as well. “Where are you going?”

Lilly looks at her sadly, and Weevil starts getting the impression that maybe he and Echolls shouldn’t be here for this. Nudges him. Logan glares, and whispers, “If Ronnie wants me here, I’m staying.” Which settles it, because if Echolls is staying, so is he. 

“I just need to get some visual aids,” Lilly says. Gives a sad little laugh. “I don’t think you’ll believe me otherwise.”

Lilly comes back with a backpack, and starts unloading. “Geez, Lills, is this story time?” Logan snarks.

“Shut up, Logan,” Lilly tells him absently, focuses on Veronica once more. “Ronica, did you know your mom and my dad were Prom King and Queen?”

Veronica wrinkles her nose. “No.”

“Well, they were.” Opens the 1979 yearbook, shows them all the picture. Weevil stares at how pretty Vee’s mom was. “And, um, they dated on and off. For years.” Lilly bites her lip, and hands polaroids to Veronica, who looks at them and nods.

“Okay, Lils, but what does this have to do with me and Duncan?”

Lilly leans forward, her big eyes pleading. “I really can’t tell you how much I don’t think they should be here for this.”

“Lilly, what is it?” Veronica sounds hysterical, and anxious, and annoyed, all at the same time.

“They had an affair,” Logan tells her, dully. “That’s the big secret, right? That they were together in high school, and they got back together after.”

Lilly keeps her eyes on Veronica, nods. Veronica is staring at Logan. “No. My mom wouldn’t... Your dad...”

Logan moves closer. Lilly reaches out, and encircles Veronica’s wrist. “I don’t know how true it is, but that’s what Celeste told Duncan.” She breathes in and out again. “Veronica... Celeste said that it wasn’t that they got back together. It’s that they never stopped.” Logan gets it, if his eyes widening is any indication. Weevil is still in the dark with Vee. 

“I don’t understand.” Veronica’s voice is small. Veronica looks small. 

Lilly inches forward still, blocking him and Logan out of the circle, forming a tighter circle of two. “Veronica, sixteen years ago, your mom and my dad were sneaking around. Celeste told Duncan that there’s the possibility you’re not your dad’s.”

Weevil gets it. Veronica still seems to need to be helped along. “What does that mean?”

“Well, there’s good news and bad news, okay? The good news is, we may be actually sisters, instead of just like sisters.” She pauses. “The bad news is, if that’s true, Duncan would be your brother.”

Veronica leans back, pondering that for a second. “If my dad’s not my dad... If your dad’s my dad... And Duncan and I...” She turns green. And then leaps up and runs out of the room.

Logan seemed to anticipate this possibility, because he’s up and after her faster than Weevil can even process. He and Lilly sit in the living room together, silently, and hear Veronica throwing up in the bathroom. Weevil can hear Logan murmuring something, but can’t quite make out what.

“Well,” Lilly says brightly, “that went better than I expected.”

“You think you could have eased into that a bit more?” he asks her.

Lilly’s face tightens into a scowl. “Hey, I’ve been sitting on that for over a month, trying to figure out how to tell her, okay? I agonized. Me. Trust me, there’s no good way to tell someone that the dad they love may not be their dad, and that on top of that, they have done dirty things with their maybe brother. If you can come up with something better than I did, I’m all ears.”

Weevil looks at her, chagrined. “Sorry. I just - damn.”

“I know, right?” Lilly rolls her eyes in what he assumes is solidarity. “I can’t even believe it, you know?” Weevil nods. “And, even worse, this thing has, like, totally consumed my life. I lost my best friend, my brother is going crazy, and everything else is just falling apart.”

“Yeah, that’s the worst thing about finding out your best friend may be your sister. How it impacts you.”

She glares at him. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying, it sucks. Hardcore.”

“Should we be -”

Lilly shakes her head. “No. I don’t think she wants us to see her puking her guts out.”

“But she’s fine with Echolls seeing it.”

Lilly looks at him. Scootches closer. “They’ve always had this weird relationship, you know? Logan likes taking care of her. And he lets her take care of him.”

Weevil stares at her. “You know, they like each other.”

“Yeah,” she says. “I do. Not to make this too much of a ‘me’ thing, but that’s also been bothering me. Duncan’s in a funk, and I would normally talk to one of them about it. But I couldn’t, because no one could know why, and telling Veronica stuff about him would have been cruel. And telling Logan about him wouldn’t have helped, because he would have either blamed Veronica or wanted to know why. So, I just had to not be near them. And they get to be all close and cuddly, and wham! I’m out a boyfriend, a best friend, and two of the people who know me best.” She picks at the carpet. “And then, I can’t even talk to Duncan about that, because he goes all...” Gives him a smile, shrugs. “So, there’s that!”

“You could have come to me,” Weevil voices, petulant and low.

Lilly snorts. “Okay, so now it can be all about you.” He flushes. “Look, Eli, I really liked you. But I was dealing with so much other shit, I couldn’t handle you on top of everything else too.”

“Then what was up with the closet sex?” he demands.

“I -”, she flushes, “I missed you. So, I jumped you.” She rolls her shoulders back. “Plus, I was worried about Veronica.” Moves to what looks like some weird yoga position. “But, and understand what I’m saying when I tell you this, you were supposed to be just some fun. Maybe a way to piss off Celeste some more. And then you were sweet and attentive, and it just got to be too much. So, I had to cut you loose.” Gives him a smile. “Sorry.”

Before he has time to react, Veronica wanders back out, looking dazed. Logan is right behind her. He’s carrying a bucket. He sits and pulls her between his legs. Puts the bucket to her side. “Okay, so, here’s what I don’t get. Why now?”

Veronica stiffens. Lilly also stiffens. “What do you mean?”

Logan starts playing with Veronica’s hair. “Ronnie and Duncan. They’ve been together for as long as we were,” he tells Lilly. “So, why now? Why did Celeste decide now was the time to break out the paternity news, instead of when they started dating? Three months in? Six months in?”

Lilly shifts again. “Um, I really don’t want to -”

“Lilly.” Veronica’s hoarse voice cuts through. “Tell me.”

“Celeste may have found some condoms.” Lilly raises an eyebrow. “Not mine, by the way. And she asked Duncan about it. They have that whole, open communication thing going for them, you know?” She gives a sad little laugh. “So, anyway, their perfect virginal boy was thinking about maybe not being so virginal in the near future, and Celeste flipped. Came out with it.”

Veronica looks sick. “So, you’re telling me, that if Celeste hadn’t found - Duncan and I -”

Logan grabs the bucket and sets it in front of her. She throws up again, then dry heaves into it. Weevil winces. She starts crying.

Lilly looks almost amused. “How did you know to bring that?”

“I figured, you’d probably have another doozy or three to throw at her,” Logan bites out as he rubs her back. “It couldn’t hurt to be prepared.”

Veronica mumbles something unintelligible. Logan leans in closer. “What?”

“Vomit,” she chokes out. “There’s vomit in my hair. This has been the worst month.”

Lilly unfolds herself and slowly walks over. “Oh, Veronica. We can go wash that out.”

“Don’t touch me!” She scrambles away from all of them. “Don’t! You knew! You knew and you didn’t tell me!”

“I couldn’t!” Lilly pleads. “I wanted to so bad, Veronica. I really did. I went to Duncan like you asked, and then he just told me everything. And I wanted to tell you, I did. But -”

“But what, Lilly? Best friends tell each other everything. That was your rule! And you broke it! A lot! You broke it a lot! You - you’re not my best friend!” She tears out of the room, Logan at her heels. Weevil pauses to look back at a disgruntled and worried Lilly before the two of them join in the chase. It ends in the kitchen, with Logan watching impassively as Vee tries to cut something from around her wrist with what must be the dullest scissors on the planet. “Stupid - what did you even make this thing out of, titanium?”

Lilly giggles. “Only the best for my BFF.”

“It - won’t - come - off!” she grunts. “And I can still smell vomit! It’s everywhere!” Weevil watches as she pulls the scissors from the bracelet, and grabs a chunk of hair. It happens before any of them can move, a lock of her long tresses hitting the floor as she grabs for another section. Lilly’s eyes are impossibly wide. “Oh, that it cuts no problem!” Veronica spits out.

“Veronica, no!” The other girl moves forward, and Logan comes in between them.

“Let her have this,” he tells her. “If this is as destructive as she gets, we’re letting her have this.”

“She’s going to hate herself in the morning,” Lilly pleads.

Logan glances over his shoulder and where Vee is trying to figure out the best next step. “Yeah, maybe. But it might be what she needs right now.”

“Oh for - Logan,” Lilly tells him firmly, “move.” She makes her way to Veronica. “Okay, if you’re going to go through with this craziness, we’re doing it right. Come on. One of you two, sweep that up.”

As they walk toward the bathroom, Weevil watches Lilly pull a rubber band from around her wrist and easily pull Vee’s hair into a ponytail. 

Logan looks shell shocked, which is what he imagines he looks like himself. “White people,” Weevil finds himself muttering, and Logan snorts. “You know, I figured Lilly was going to say something like, ‘My brother’s secretly gay’. Not -” He makes a hand motion that doesn’t come close to indicating the level of shit that has just gone down.

Logan nods as he walks over to the fridge, pulling a broom and dustpan out from the space between fridge and wall. “I wasn’t thinking ‘gay’, but I wasn’t thinking this.” He sweeps up the bit of Veronica’s hair, and then starts sweeping the rest of the kitchen. Off of Weevil’s incredulous look, he says, “Might as well.”

“What do you think they’re doing in there?”

“Lilly’s a fashionista. It’s probably killing her to not have a professional do Veronica’s ‘do. So, I’m betting she’s working on mitigating the damage. And trying to see if she can convince Ronica to do a spa day tomorrow.”

He can feel a headache coming on. “Why a spa day?”

Logan’s face breaks out in a manic grin. “Because being pampered cures all ills.”

“She can’t seriously believe that,” Weevil says. Logan shrugs. “Why do you know all this, man?”

Logan turns to him, leaning on his broom. Still smiling. “Because I hang out with two girly girls. Constantly. Because Veronica is one of my best friends. And because, no matter what you think, I’m a pretty decent boyfriend. I listen to Lilly when she talks.” Turns back to his task. “And, yeah, she seriously believes it. Because there’s nothing that really gets her down, so it doesn’t take a lot to bring her back up. And the shit that does get her down, she ignores until she can’t. And then she laughs about it so she can not deal with it without getting anyone’s attention.”

“And Vee?”

Logan sweeps his small pile of crap into the dustpan. “You know Veronica,” he tells him. “Basically, what you see is what you get. Spa days only worked before because there was nothing too major hurting.”

There’s really nothing he can say to that. There’s really nothing either of them can do for her. He hopes Lilly’s at least a little bit right, because otherwise, he’s pretty sure they’ve got nothing.


	16. Chapter 16

The girls emerge, twenty or so minutes later. Logan is munching on some chips he pilfered from the cabinet, and when he sees the result of that time, he chokes.

“Looking good, Vee,” Weevil calls, and gives her his best leer. The hair is short and choppy, and she’s tugging on errant strands.

Lilly flops down next to Logan on the couch and grabs some chips. Veronica comes and stands over by him. “It’s the best I could do, with the tools I was given. We’re going to the salon tomorrow, Veronica, don’t you fight me on this. We’ll see what they can do. My treat.” She leans back and motions for Logan to give her something. He hands her a flask. “And then, we’re going to the spa, and then, we’re shopping till we drop. On Daddy’s card, don’t worry.”

“Lilly...” Logan warns.

“What?” She turns to him with an innocent air. “It’s the least he could do for her after turning her life upside down like this.” Veronica groans and bangs her forehead hard into his shoulder. Weevil glares disapprovingly at the other girl. “What?” Lilly demands, and it occurs to him that she might not know. “It’s all out there now. Why can we just deal and move on?”

Veronica bangs her head into his shoulder again. He thinks she might give him a bruise. Logan is staring at his ex with a strange amalgamation of admiration and disgust. It’s Veronica who answers. “Because this is my life, Lills. It’s my life, and it’s gone all pear shaped on me when I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Fine,” Lilly huffs. “We won’t just move on. But we’re still doing everything I said.” She grins at Vee. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to talk to you again, finally. It was killing me. I missed you like whoa.”

Veronica smiles hesitantly. “I missed you too, Lill. I really did. But I don’t know. I mean, I can’t just go back.”

“Veronica, let me do this for you. Please. This is the only way I know how to make it up to you. And you deserve it.” Lilly pauses. “You’re my best friend. And I want to do what I can to make you feel better, even if it’s only for a second. I’d spend my entire trust fund if I could give you that second, you know that.”

Weevil supposes that’s the 09er equivalent of ‘I’d take a bullet for you’. Veronica nods. “Okay. We can do that. But, just, let’s not go too overboard. I still have to explain to my dad -” Her face crumples again. Lilly walks over and pulls her into a crushing hug. 

“Hey, he’s still your dad, okay? He’s like, the only grown up who’s worth anything. So, we’ve got to keep him.” She presses a kiss to Veronica’s forehead. “You’re still your daddy’s girl, Veronica Mars. Nothing’s going to change that.”

Vee sniffles. “Okay.”

Lilly grins. “Okay.” Glances at the clock. “Shoot. I’m grounded. Gotta get back before the warden checks the cells.”

Logan walks over, and she passes Vee to him. “What’d you do this time?”

Lilly’s grin turns salacious. “Oh, I may have caught the passing fancy of an older gentleman of my parents’ acquaintance. Celeste was going on and on about bringing shame to the family, my wicked wild ways ruining them, how could I do this, have I no shame, no common decency? And I may have -” glances at Veronica. “Um, said something about something. No big. I’ll do my time.”

Logan grins. “Lillian Kane, queen of tact.”

“You know it. Bye, Veronica. Tomorrow, eight o’clock. Sharp!” She’s gone before they can say another word.

“Lilly Kane, hurricane,” Logan whispers to Veronica, who lets out a weak little solitary giggle. “You know eight o’clock is really more like eleven, right?”

Veronica nods. “Yeah. I’ll be ready at eight, though. Because that’s just me. Following along at Lilly’s heels.”

“No, you’re Veronica Mars, punctual goddess,” he tells her. “With kickin’ new hair.”

Veronica peeks up at him. “You really like it?”

“Yeah. It works for you.” She pulls away from him and bumps Weevil in the shoulder she repeatedly took her aggression out on. He’s a little sad to say he winces. “So, what’d you think of tonight’s floor show?”

“It was definitely a nail biter,” he says, bumping her back. “What are you gonna do?”

Logan looks interested in the answer to that question as well. 

“What am I going to do about what?” Weevil looks at her. “Oh. That. I think...” She pauses. “I think I’m going to leave it.”

“What do you mean, ‘leave it’?” Logan questions. Veronica shrugs.

“I mean, after blowing my whole world to pieces, Lilly did make a good point. My dad is my dad. I don’t need something telling me he is. He just is. And, I don’t want to know if he’s not. It won’t help anything.”

“But, if you know, and your dad is your dad, then you can just -”

“What,” Veronica asks, “go back to how it was?” She shakes her head. “I can’t. I already cut off all my hair. And I don’t think I want to.”

“Duncan still loves you, you know,” Logan tells her, and it looks like it hurts him to say. “He practically bit my head off when he found out we were hanging out all the time.”

Vee leans again Weevil, and he puts an arm around her shoulders, steadying her. “But I don’t think I love Duncan anymore. I mean, I’ve been mad at him - really mad - for a while. And this? It just sort of made me think. He didn’t talk to me; he didn’t tell me. He told Lilly, but not me. It’s about me, my life, and he just - walked away.” She shakes her head, and then shakes it more. “That’s going to take some getting used to. Anyway, now that I know, I can’t un-know. So, I just have to move forward.”

Logan nods. “Yeah. Okay. But you don’t have to doing it alone.”

Weevil nods. "Yeah. Whatever you want to do, we're here." It feels weird to be in this much agreement with Echolls, but that's how it is.

Veronica sighs. "Thanks, guys. Right now, I'm thinking ice cream sundaes may be the way to go."

"And here I was thinking alcohol," Logan quips. I'll get the sundae ingredients. You pick something to watch on the tv machine.

"I hate to say this, but I gotta get home. Somebody has to feed Ophelia," Weevil explains.

"Okay, Weevs. I guess I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah." He presses a kiss to the crown of her head. "Stay strong, Vee."

She gives him a tired smile. "I'm trying."

Logan brings out bowls, and ice cream, and sprinkles and whipped cream. "Big Lebowski time?" he suggests.

"Big Lebowski time," she agrees.

Weevil leaves them there and heads on home to his own little world, where decades long affairs and sisters dating brothers would be confined to the soap operas.


	17. Chapter 17

Veronica shoots by his gang with her new hair, shoving a freshman into the girls’ bathroom. For once, all of them are taken aback. Felix is the one who breaks the silence. “Hey, man, was that Veronica Mars?”

Weevil nods. “Yeah.” Doesn’t offer anything else up. Has nothing else to offer.

“What is she -?”

“She had a tough weekend,” Weevil says, and depends on his position to get him out of explaining anything further, like how shoving some guy into the girls’ room has anything to do with how her weekend was. Logan walks up to them, apparently having seen the same thing they all did.

“That girl is seriously whack,” he tells Weevil conversationally. 

“Yeah,” he answers as he moves them away from the guys, “What’s that about, anyway?”

“Oh, you know,” Logan says, “she’s trying to track down how everyone knew about you and Lilly.” Weevil gives him a look, and he quickly elaborates, “With everything going down in her life right now, she’s looking for something to solve. You know.”

Weevil doesn’t know. For everything he knows about Veronica Mars, he’s not sure how she handles problems. So he gives a shrug. “And she thinks random freshmen are the key to the puzzle?”

“She thinks that random freshmen are probably more likely to be intimidated by her than sophomores or juniors would be. And she’s probably right about that. Even with the hair and shiny new combat boots, she’s still Veronica. She doesn’t really strike fear into that many people’s hearts.”

Weevil scoffs as they walk down the hall. Somehow, being a part of the drama in Vee’s life has made him not hate Echolls so much. “Combat boots?”

“Yeah. She told me she was sick of being sweet little Veronica Mars. Someone everyone could pull the wool over. Someone who just accepted things as they are. She wants to be someone else for a little while.”

Weevil ponders this. “And you said?”

“I said that she should be Veronica; and if she wants to change what she doesn’t like, then she can do that and still be Veronica. That I happen to really like sweet little Veronica Mars, but I’ll pretty much like whoever she decides Veronica is next too.” 

He laughs. “You really are good at girl talk, aren’t you? What do you do, read all the mags?”

Echolls smirks. “Do not underestimate the wisdom of Seventeen, mi amigo. It is a quality publication that allows for an unparallelled insight into the brain of the average teenage girl.” 

Echolls holds open the door to English, and Weevil walks through with him. “You worried about her?”

“Moderately. I mean, with everything. But she’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah?” He slides in his seat across from Lilly’s ex. “How do you know?”

Logan looks resolute. “Because I won’t let her be anything less.”

Weevil shrugs. “Good enough for me.”

When he actually sees Veronica, instead of just her blur as she powers by him, it’s when Logan nods at him to follow to her locker after class.

Vee’s standing there, looking more than a tad uncomfortable, in a short skirt, t-shirt, the boots Logan mentioned, and a more stylized version of the hair he’d last seen in her living room. “Lilly did a make over?”

Veronica grimaces. “Lilly had a fit.” Logan giggles. “She said, and I quote, ‘I just don’t understand the aesthetic you’re going for’. But she promised me a shopping trip on Jake’s dime, and I got one.”

“Bet she didn’t see thrift shops in her future when she offered that up,” Logan teases.

“Yeah, well, you rich people get rid of stuff long before it’s even gently used, just because you want to have the biggest and best thing. And that’s always new.” She pauses. “Those freshmen Beaver pointed me to were pretty helpful. I think I’m on the right trail this time. I feel kind of bad though. I made a girl cry when she saw Beaver’s friend standing in the bathroom.”

He and Logan both laugh at that, and she scowls. Logan breaks first. “Sorry, just - how did you make her cry?”

“She looked like she was going to scream, so I told her I would make her life miserable if she did.” She grimaces. “I didn’t mean it. But then she started crying instead, and my freshman got away because I had to comfort another freshman. Who knew nothing, by the way.”

“Explain again why you aren’t letting me help you?”

She stamps her foot. “Because. This is my case. And you won’t follow protocol and remain secondary. You’ll insist on being primary.”

Logan turns to him. “Did you get any of that?”

“Yeah, man. That’s cop jargon right there.” He can’t help the indulgent smile he throws at Vee. “So, you’re the primary?”

“Yeah.”

“You looking for a secondary?”

“I can’t use you either, hot shot. You’re one of the people in the story. People aren’t going to want to tell you what they told other people about you.” Veronica huffs and crosses her arms, and Weevil has to work really hard not to laugh at her.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Vee, but you are also someone in the stories. So people may not want to talk to you either.”

Veronica looks positively glowing. “Yeah, but unlike the two of you, I don’t have a gang of people waiting to take them out. I’m just little Veronica Mars. And I’m not above using that to get my intel.”

Logan nods. “Alright, so, spill. What intel have you managed to rustle up all by your lonesome?”

“Well, Carrie Bishop, gossip queen, was definitely partially responsible for the wildfire-like quality the story had amongst the student body, but she doesn’t seem to be our leaker. Someone told Carrie about Weevil and Lilly, and I intend to find out who.”

Weevil watches as Logan bends down and kisses her cheek. “You’ll figure it out. Gotta get to class.”

“That was new,” he says as he and Vee continue down the hallway in the opposite direction.

She blushes. “Yeah. Turns out, he likes me.” Looks at Weevil. “And I like him.”

“Yeah,” his voice breaks a little. “I know, remember?”

“So, you don’t have anything to say?”

Weevil looks down at the girl staring apprehensively up at him. “I’m not saying he’s who I would choose to be your boyfriend. But I’m not going to beat the shit out of him for it either.” She smiles. “But if he hurts you, he answers to me.”

“Yes, Dad,” she teases, and Weevil can feel the flush start from the back of his neck.

“Hey, just looking out for my girl, is all.” Breathes in. “So, why are you so interested in the gossip chains of Neptune High?”

She shrugs. “It occupies my mind. It gives me something to do. I can’t get another student to tutor; you’re too much of a handful. So, there’s this. I can figure this out.”

He stops. “You know, Vee, there’s nothing wrong with wanting answers to that other thing.”

She naws at her lip, and he feels awful for even thinking about it. “Logan said the same thing. But, do I really want to know if it’s just going to hurt me more? I mean, there’s something for having a little mystery in your life.”

“But not too much?” 

“Nope, not too much.” She grins at him. “This detective thing is a blast. No wonder my dad likes it so much.”

“Yeah? Just don’t go arresting me, alright?”

“Never,” she swears. “That would put the kibosh on our burgeoning friendship.”


	18. Chapter 18

“Hey.” Weevil looks up and sees a familiar blonde leaning on his bike. “Want to go for a ride?”

“Always.” He hands her the second helmet, watches as she adjusts the straps. When they get situated, he asks, “We going anywhere in particular, or are you just looking to get away from it all?”

“Madison Sinclair’s,” Veronica tells him grimly. He knows he looks confused, but she must feel him tense up because she hurries to explain. “I got Carrie Bishop to roll today. All I have to do is get my dad to investigate Mr. Rooks.”

“Investigate him for what?” 

He can feel her shrug. “Don’t know. Carrie wouldn’t say. Which I think is a healthy change of pace for her. She just told me to have him look at his employment history, and then he’ll have the idea of what to do next. I figure, if she’s playing me, the most that happens is my dad spends a couple taxpayer dollars making sure a teacher is on the up and up. And if she’s not, then -”

Then justice will be served, Weevil figures is the end of that sentence. It must be nice, he thinks, having that kind of faith and trust in the system. It probably helps that her dad is the system. “So, Madison Sinclair?”

“Yeah. Do you need -”

Weevil snorts. “Listen, chica, I know where all the richies live. I got family working in half those joints. And they have worked in the other half.”

He doesn’t need to turn to know that she’s flushing, same way she always does when he talks about how far away from the Echollses and Sinclairs and Kanes he and his really are. Because she’s not one of them, but she’s not so low that she’s working for them either.

“Right,” she answers awkwardly. He revs the engine, and drives off toward the Sinclair. His cousin worked there as a maid for about a week three summers ago. From what he knows, the rest of the family was nice, low key. It was only Madison who was a bitch. And it was Madison who got her fired, claiming she’d purposefully ruined a shirt or some shit like that. He tightens his hold on the handlebars. He hates that his zip is always begging for the scraps the 09ers are willing to throw, how the 09ers deign to throw those scraps and act like it’s some kindness on their part. 

When they peel up the long driveway, he doesn’t care about the noise he’s making. “What are we doing?”

“I’m going to get us in,” Veronica tells him, shaking out her hair. “Then you’re going to stand behind me and look somewhere between moderately intimidating and downright intimidating. And then we’ll get our answers.” She motions to the bike. “That never loses its appeal, by the way.”

“That right?” He smirks as she leads the way. “Well, at least I got one thing going for me your pretty boy boyfriend doesn’t have.”

“He’s not really my boyfriend,” she tells him as nonchalantly as possible, which means she’s not nonchalant at all. “We’re just going where it’s going.”

Weevil almost growls. “I’m going to put him in a headlock and make him cry uncle.”

“Don’t,” she says sternly. “He wants to. I just - there’s so much going on, I don’t want to wake up in a couple of weeks and have him just be someone I liked because he was there, you know? I want to make sure this is me, and I’m really in it to be in it.”

He stares at her, goes to tell her what kind of idiot she’s being, but she’s rung the bell and a little girl opens it up. She looks almost nothing like Madison. “Hi?”

“Hi!” Veronica goes perky faster and better than anyone else he’s ever seen. Weevil is amazed. “Lauren, right?” The little girl nods, lights up. Weevil wonders how much attention she gets from Madison, figures it’s probably not a lot. “I’m Veronica. How are you?”

“Good.” The girl’s holding a book, and Weevil knows the second Veronica notices because she grins.

“Nancy Drew, huh? Which one?”

Lauren blushes. “The Bungalow Mystery. It’s not like I’m reading it for the first time or anything. I just really like it.”

Veronica’s smile dims a little bit. Weevil shifts. What he’d planned on doing this afternoon was no where near getting into a discussion about teen detective novels. But, he thinks, looking over Veronica, maybe that’s what he should have anticipated. “Hey, it’s okay. I like them too. I still pull out my box set from time to time. Nancy Drew always gets her man, right?”

Lauren smiles. “Right. Madison tells me I’m a dork for reading. And that I’m a baby for reading the Nancy Drew ones again.”

Veronica stiffens. “Well, Madison...” Both girls shrug. Lauren giggles, looking thrilled. “Speaking of, do you think we can go in and talk to her?”

For the first time, Madison’s little sister turns and looks at him, takes a step back into the house. “I don’t know. Mom and Dad said no visitors.” Weevil assumes what she means is no visitors who look like him.

“We’ll only be a second,” Veronica promises. “In and out, I swear.”

Lauren shifts, looks back and forth between them. “Is Madison in trouble?”

“Not with anyone who can do anything to her,” Veronica tells Lauren. “I just need to ask her a few things. About school.” Weevil smirks. Lauren seems to pick up on it. 

“If it’s for school,” Lauren grins at Veronica, as if she understands there’s some sort of code, “I guess Mom and Dad can’t be mad.”

Veronica grins back. “Exactly.”

“Her room is up the stairs, to the left. It’s the biggest one in the house,” Lauren informs them, rolling her eyes, as she steps to the side of the door.

“Thanks, Lauren,” Veronica tells her.

“No problem,” Lauren says smartly. “If you need me, I’ll be in the library.”

“Moderately intimidating?” Weevil asks her, walking up the stairs by her side.

Veronica’s grin twists a little, looks a little more vicious. “Moderate to start, yeah. But feel free to use gang leader imperative if you want to kick it up a notch or three.”

She positions them both in the doorway so there’s no break between them, and Weevil looks over at her, bemused. “You been watching a lot of cop flicks?”

“Always,” she shoots back. “Those and the detective movies are in constant rotation at the house.” She gives a sharp knock and then flings the door open.

Weevil is not going to lie, he’s kind of hoping they catch Madison in some sort of compromising position. Something that will make this trek even more enjoyable than it already promises to be. But the girl is just lounging on her bed. The look of shocked revulsion on her face when she sees who has graced her doorway is a good start though. 

“Veronica Mars,” she sneers once she’s gotten her bearings back. “Who let trash like you in?”

Vee doesn’t flinch. “Oh, Madison,” she drawls. “You wound me.” Walks into the room casually. Weevil follows. Madison gives a little gasp and pushes herself back further onto her bed. Which is just kind of perfect, because he hasn’t even begun being intimidating by any scale yet. “Let’s have a little chat, shall we? A little girl talk, if you will.”

“What could I possibly have to say to you, you pasty freak?”

Weevil leans forward, and Madison pulls further back. He hates this girl, because he’s not even pulling his best moves and she’s already trembling in a corner. Veronica glances coldly at her and continues circling the room. “Be careful, Maddy. Weevs might get mad.” Stops, and pulls out the chair from Madison’s desk. “Now, let’s talk about a month or so ago. You get in a fight with Dick. You go out to Dog Beach. And you witness the truly spectacular breakdown of one Logan Echolls. Now, you could have done the decent thing, and kept your mouth shut. But this was just too juicy, too good not to share. Lilly Kane, Queen Bee, sleeping with Weevil Navarro? Little mousy Veronica Mars knowing about it and not sharing with the class? You saw your opportunity to move in a little closer to the inner circle. If the chips fell well, then Lilly and I would be out. If they fell only okay, one of us - most likely yours truly - would be out. And you wouldn’t even have to get your hands dirty, because everyone would suspect Susan Knight and Carrie Bishop. No one would think you, GF to Logan’s right hand man, would do such a thing.”

Weevil leans back, folds his arms. He’s pretty impressed with Vee, doesn’t let it show. He’s got a job, and it’s the enforcer. Madison looks a little peaked. “You can’t prove that.”

Vee smiles, and it’s not a smile he’s seen on her face before. It’s cold, and calculating. He stops to wonder who this girl is in front of him. “I don’t have to prove it, Madison. Lilly’s still head of the pack. Logan is still in charge. I’m back in. You being jealous of me? Of Lilly? Well, that’s old news. And if I tell Logan or Lilly, then you’re out. And you won’t be coming back.” 

Madison looks sick. “You would love that, wouldn’t you?”

“Not as much as you’d think. You’re nothing to me, Madison. I don’t even realize you exist a good 85 percent of the time. I don’t know what I did to make you hate me, but I don’t care. I just want you to know that I know. So the next time you try to pull something like this, the next time it occurs to you that you could maybe start a coup and become the next top 09er, think about that. I know. And if you cross me, if you do anything I don’t like, I’m going to sing like the proverbial canary.”

Weevil takes a moment to appreciate Vee’s artistry as she pushes herself up from the chair and walks out of the room. He follows, allowing one last moment of terrorizing the older Sinclair before leaving. Walks down the staircase, and then into the library, where Lauren sits. 

“Hey, Lauren,” Veronica chirps. “I just wanted to let you know we’re leaving.”

“Cool.” The younger girl smiles at them. “Get what you came for?”

“Oh, yeah.” Veronica waves and they walk back out to his bike.

“I gotta know something,” he tells her as she pulls on the helmet. She looks at him. “Which one is the real you?”

She scrunches up her face at him. “What do you mean?”

“You. You’re all powder fresh and soft and sweet as a pastry. And then you’re almost scary devious and hard as nails. So, which is the real Veronica Mars?” He leans in toward her. “Inquiring minds want to know.”

She taps idly on his bike. He tries not to fuss over the paint job. “They’re both me, I guess. I like being sweet. I’m good at it. I like seeing the best in people. But,” she turns and stands still, “I’m not going to be sweet to people who aren’t sweet to me. You know what these last couple of weeks have shown me?” 

“No.”

“I have to stand up for myself. I can’t wait for someone else to come around and fix my problems. If I’m having problems, I have to work at them. And I’m lucky to have people like you who will help me do that.” Vee walks up to him. “I wanted you here today because I wanted you to know. Who did it. But I also like having you around. So...” She puts out her arms, like she’s asking him for acceptance. He nods at her.

“Alright, I get it. More than one side to the princess.” He slides his arm around her shoulder. “Next time, let’s get me for something other than a wimpy 09er, though, eh?”

She nods back. “Sounds like a plan.” Shuffles her feet. “Hey, what are you planning on doing the rest of the day?”

He shrugs. “Video games, probably. Why?”

“Mind if I come? Hang out with you?”

He looks at her, and she’s gazing up at him hopefully. He grins. “You want to come to the barrio, play shoot ‘em up games with me and the boys?”

She blushes as hard as Lauren did over Nancy Drew. “Stupid idea, I know.”

“No, it’s.” He struggles to find the word it is. “It’s fine.” It’s better than fine, actually, but he doesn’t know how to tell her that and still be ‘Weevil’. “Hop on. We’ll show you a good time.” He doesn’t even mean it as a come on.

Vee is surprisingly bad at video games, the first few go arounds. Thumper, in particular, seems to get a perverse amount of pleasure from shooting her avatar dead. He ends up taking her controller at various points and helping her along. His young cousins smirk at him, like they know what’s going on. He doesn’t bother to shoo them away. She eats dinner with them, smiling and laughing at the warm disarray that is his family life, and he feels good watching her here. He shouldn’t be so shocked that she fits in his home, because he sees how she fits everywhere. She is the true social chameleon; and even though he’s seen her go from sugar to spice and back today, she’s able to basically be the same person whether she’s eating at his kitchen table or noshing with the 09ers. He admires her for it; he’s glad she’s decided to include him in it. He’s glad she’s made a place for him in her life, as much as he is that he’s carving out a place for her in his own.


	19. Chapter 19

Weevil’s startled, not surprised really, but startled, when Carrie Bishop confronts Mr. Rooks in the hall by throwing a key at him and telling him something along the lines of “You can stop dodging my calls. Here’s your key back. I won’t be needing it any more" about a week after Vee got the Sheriff to start a preliminary investigation. Some of the lesser Carrie Bishop wannabes throw some extra spice about how she yelled that she was pregnant and some of the other ones have the spice where it turns out she’s not, but Weevil knows the truth, because he was there. The show goes down right in front of Vee’s locker, where he is to get his homework checked and Echolls is because he’s a pain in the ass. Veronica, for her part, looks stunned.

When Carrie flits down the hall in front of them, she pauses momentarily and calls out to Vee, “Sorry, Veronica, your dad was working too slow for me.”

Vee turns slowly, mouth hanging open, says to him, “Well, I guess I know what Carrie wanted him to find.”

Echolls huffs. “You had gossip? You had gossip on a teacher and you didn’t tell me? You had gossip on a teacher, and you told him? You wound me, Veronica Mars. It is a fatal blow.”

She rolls her eyes. “When is the Shakespeare unit done in English?”

“We finished a week and a half ago,” Weevil tells her. “Your boy there is just a drama king.”

She stops looking at his homework, stops paying attention to them at all, and stares blankly down the hall before her eyes snap back into focus. Turns to him and head tilts. “Do me a favor?”

He can’t help his grin, he can’t. “Yeah?”

“Tell your guys to stick close to Carrie today?”

“Sure, Vee. But you wanna tell me why? Thought you hated her.”

Veronica’s lips thin, and she gives him a short nod. “Yeah, Carrie’s not on my short list. But she’s in for a world of hurt today, and if she’s telling the truth, she doesn’t deserve it.”

Echolls pushes himself off the lockers and catches her in a quick kiss. “My little powder puff.”

Vee blushes, and turns back to the homework still in her hand. “Okay, you’re doing a lot better. Just 3 and 17 today.” Hip bumps him as she hands it back. “Pretty soon, you won’t need a tutor.”

“But what am I supposed to do with all that extra time I’ll have?” he teases her. She shrugs as the bell rings, and the three of them scatter to their respective classes.

He leans over to Felix and Hector and Thumper during shop, tells them to watch out for Carrie. Felix and Hector look a little confused, and give him a quick nod. Thumper groans. “We going to be watching out for all the gringas, or just the rich ones?”

Weevil tenses, and then lets it go. Can’t show weakness. Can’t show anything other than being in control. “Vee’s not rich.”

“Ah, but she snaps her fingers or clicks her heels, and you’re there to do her bidding.” Thumper leans forward, into Weevil’s space. “If you get off on taking orders from little blonde girls, that’s your freaky deal. But you being so eager to be the help, maybe you don’t have the cajones to be in charge of the PCHers.”

There are times when everything goes silent for Weevil. In those moments, he knows exactly what he has to do, how hard he has to push, to maintain control. Felix is looking outraged by Thumper’s outright challenge, and Weevil gives him a grin. Makes his voice sweet as honey. “Hold on. You saying because I’m giving you orders you don’t like, maybe I’m not the one in charge anymore?”

He looks to Felix for solidarity. He finds it. Thumper blusters back. “All I want to know is, what is it about Echolls’ scraps that gets you all hard?”

Weevil plays at being cool, gives Thumper a little loose shrug, and then punches him square in the face. The guy goes down, hard, and Weevil lets himself have a little moment of self-congratulations before he hits Thumper again. Picks him up, throws him into a table. He stands up straight and watches as Thumper tries to regain any sort of ground. Felix and Hector are looking to him for instruction, and his smile is real. “Felix, Hector,” he calls out. “Take out the trash.”

“Happy to,” Felix mutters, and he grabs Thumper under the arms. “How bad do we want him trashed?”

Weevil pauses. “Don’t go easy, but not full throttle either.” The guys nod, and move to take him out. When Felix and Hector come back, sans Thumper, Weevil stops working on the engine block in front of him for a second. “You know why that happened?”

Felix shrugs. Hector is the one to respond. “Yeah. He went after your juera.”

“No.” Weevil stands up. “He talks shit about Vee, I hit him, we all go back to normal soon as the bruises heal. Start talking shit about me, though...” Weevil lets it lay. “Got it?”

Hector nods. “So, we still doing her bidding?”

“She asked for a favor,” Weevil states. “I said yes. That’s all you need to know.”

Hector nods, moves to a different station. Weevil stands there, breathes out. Goes back to his engine. Feels Felix sidle over. “Listen, Weevil. You know I like your girl, right?” Weevil continues to work, nods at him to continue. “I mean, there’s more there than you see. But, man, you can’t be doing this all the time. There’s only so whipped you can be if you’re not getting anything out of the deal.”

Weevil can feel the tension coil around and up his spine. Rolls his shoulders back. “Yeah.”

Felix presses closer. “You spending all this time with her, talk’s starting that you’re getting soft.”

The tension is starting to creep into his eyes, pushing vines of it along his scalp. “Yeah.”

“That’s all I’m saying. You know I got your back. But is this the fight you want?”

He thinks about blue eyes. About choppy blonde hair and a girl trying to find an attitude to fit it. “I’ll let you know.”

Felix’s face darkens with concern, but he nods and moves away. Weevil doesn’t want this to be a fight, not really. What he wants is to figure out how to integrate Vee into his life, without rippling the water so much it wipes him out. He’s starting to glom to the fact that it isn’t going to go down easily. 

He does the cowardly thing, berates himself for it, and avoids her up until lunch. He catches her eye once as she moves to greet him, but he quickly just brushes her off with a head nod and moves with his boys further down the halls. He doesn’t look back to see how she takes it, but he catches the glower Lilly throws him from her locker. He doesn’t stop for her, either. 

He gets a good idea of how Vee feels about the sudden cold shoulder when she doesn’t show up at the lunch table, even though it’s one of the days she’s usually there. He feels a little more lonely than usual, without her smiling and gently ribbing on him. Phuong hits him, and he turns in a rage. “Man, you zoned out. Look over there.”

Weevil turns, and sees Carrie Bishop. Carrie Bishop being slowly circled by cheerleaders. Cheerleaders, who seem to be singing at her. “Who’s watching her?”

Phuong shrugs. “You brushed off blondie, so we figured -”

“You figured wrong,” Weevil grinds out, turning back to his table. Thinks about exactly how much shit he’s going to be in with Vee when she finds out. Phuong hits him again. Weevil glares. “Looks like blondies one and two are taking care of it.”

He turns around slowly, battling the impulse to spin and gawk awkwardly. Watches as Veronica and Lilly stalk over to Carrie’s table. Watches the cheerleaders stumble away, more from Lilly, Weevil thinks, than Vee. Vee is the first to slide in next to the ostracized girl, with Lilly taking the other side. He’s still watching as Vee’s eyes, sharp and cold, swing over the student populace and hit on his own. She glares at him, and he feels himself stiffen in his seat.

Felix leans over. Mutters low enough so it’s for Weevil’s ears only. “Someone’s in the hot seat.”

“Yeah,” Weevil cracks, loud and boisterous, drawing the others in. “Like you said, I’m not getting anything out of it. Let her handle her own shit for a while.”

The rest of the guys grin, playfully punching each other and him. Felix doesn’t. Weevil wants to know what in the hell he wants him to do, since he can’t be Vee’s friend and he apparently can’t leave her high and dry. Doesn’t ask. Figures he feels like shit enough as it is.


	20. Chapter 20

A couple days into the Carrie Bishop Affair, as the student body as a whole seems to have deemed the situation, Vee’s still giving him the cold shoulder. He knows he should be thrilled. If she’s not chasing him around, then he doesn’t have to get mean in order to maintain his standing in the gang. But he’s not. He has to fight not to go after her, to get her to understand his situation. He figures he’ll have the chance to on Friday, because if there’s anything he learned from Lilly it’s that pursuing blondes who are ignoring his very existence is just opening himself up for hurt.

A side effect he didn’t see coming as a result of him giving Veronica the brush off is the renewed tensions between the 09ers and PCHers. Echolls, in particular, seems to be going out of his way to piss any and all of them off. His current favorite thing is to shoulder Weevil out of the way when they meet in the halls. He vaguely remembers Echolls threatening to hurt him if he hurt Vee, but he still had it figured the guy would be thrilled at this sudden cooling of relations. Turns out, he’s a better guy than Weevil’s given him credit for.

So, in the midst of dealing with rampaging guilt he’s not used to feeling and handling the ever increasing skirmishes between the haves and the nots, he’s unprepared to see Vee push Carrie Bishop hard into the bathroom she’s claimed as her own at the start of lunch. Because however hardcore Vee’s trying to be, she’s still not one to skip a period without having been dragged along for the ride. He hesitates for a couple of seconds before following them in. 

Veronica barely turns to look at him when he enters. Just huffs and snippily commands him to block the door if he’s going to be staying. He nods at her and leans against it to stop anyone else from coming in. Carrie glares at them both.

“Where were we?” Veronica’s voice is like ice. “Oh, yeah. We were talking about the fact that you lied.”

Carrie crosses her arms. “I didn’t.”

“You did. I saw the diary, Carrie. Very convincing piece of work. I’d almost believe it was yours, if it weren’t for February 20th’s entry. There’s a problem with that story, isn’t there?” 

Weevil’s intrigued by this turn of events. Carrie looks bored. “Why don’t you tell me? It’s obvious you’re dying to.”

“Okay, well, the diary entry talks about heading over after school, silk black sheets, proclamations of love, the whole nine. And how you had to sneak back into your house because you’d missed curfew.” Veronica grins. “The problem, Carrie, is that you were at the first track practice of the season. It went until 9, and you were there the entire time. Coach’s notes have you running your personal best, that he could tell you had been training in the off season.”

Weevil starts at that, looks over at Carrie, who has downgraded from bored to uncomfortable. “Look, the diary isn’t fake.”

“I believe it.” Carrie stops, stares at Veronica. “It’s just not yours.” Vee lets that sink in. “So, the question becomes, whose is it?”

“I can’t,” Carrie tells Veronica resolutely. “I promised.”

Veronica crowds her. “Yeah? Let me tell you something. I’m just a sophomore in high school who’s watched a lot of cop and detective movies and has picked up some tricks from my dad, and I figured out that what happened didn’t happen to you. What do you think is going to happen when people trained to do this for a living start digging?”

Carrie’s face hardens. “So? As long as they get Rooks -”

“They won’t get him,” Veronica tells her. “They’ll find out that you lied, and they won’t have anything else to go on to get him. A lot of people will believe you were just an attention whore, and he’ll probably be knighted. You’ll be ostracized worse than you’re getting now, and he’ll still be here. So, is that what you want? Or do you want to give me something I can work with?”

Carrie looks miserable. Something occurs to Weevil. “How did you figure it was real?”

Veronica whirls around, stares at him. “What?”

Weevil leans on the door. “You said you know the diary is real. How did you figure. You don’t like Carrie, so it’s not like you’re going to take it on faith, so?”

“I don’t want to get into it right now, with a guy who can just brush me off like all the 09ers did,” she retorts hotly, and Weevil feels like she’s led him to the answer.

“You went there. You went to his house.” He’s so angry with her he could rip the whole school apart, brick by brick. Carrie looks impressed.

“Yeah, I did. I had to know.” Veronica stands up straighter, glares at him a little harder. “And before you go getting on any sort of horse, just remember you’re the one who stopped talking to me.”

“You still could have called,” he growls. “I wouldn’t leave you to do this shit by yourself.”

“I wasn’t,” she tells him coolly. “I brought Logan.” He doesn’t know why, but he feels his jealousy boiling over. “Anyway, not the time. We’ve got to figure out what we’re doing about Rooks.”

Carrie scoffs. “This isn’t your fight, Veronica. You have no skin in this.”

“There’s a teacher sleeping with students, and you’ve decided to take him down,” Veronica tells her. “I want to help. Let me help.”

Weevil is still glaring at Veronica when Carrie relents, saying, “He can’t know.” Veronica nods, and shoos him out.

“What are you doing?” he hisses. “What was Echolls thinking, letting you go in there?”

“Why don’t you talk to him yourself while I deal with Carrie,” she hisses back, looking as pissed as he feels. “You guys can talk about techniques to avoid me while you’re at it. See who’s done the better job making me feel like shit.”

Before he can retort, she swings back through the doors and leaves him alone. He’s still pent up anger and sick with envy, so he stalks off to find Echolls before he can convince himself this is a truly terrible idea.

He finds Echolls with the rest of the 09ers, joking about something or another. He turns to Weevil and smirks. “Oh, look,” he tells the rest of them. “An aspiring gardener. Are you wondering where you can buy yourself some hedge shears?”

“Yeah,” he answers, getting right up in his face. “I’m gonna need them for when I slit your throat.”

Echolls’ grin becomes manic. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s walk.”

The guy sighs. “You never bring me flowers anymore.” Weevil pushes him around the corner, and Echolls falls more than the push warrants, gives a flinch too. He’s back to being Echolls before that bit hits Weevil’s brain enough to spark any sort of deeper thought on the subject.

“You took Vee to Rooks’ place?”

Echolls grimaces. “No. Yes. But no. Ronnie was going there, no matter what. I didn’t want her to, but her mom’s MIA, as you know, and her dad’s been pulling long hours. She figured something out about Carrie, and wanted to check out a hunch.”

“And you just let her?”

He puts up his hands. “Hey, man, I would have stopped her if I thought it were at all possible. Short of locking her up in a closet, it wasn’t. I couldn’t call her dad, because now that we’re simpatico, he’s instituted a ruling that we’re not to be left alone together. So, I went with her. Gave her five minutes from exiting my car to when I wanted her back by.”

“And in that big brain of yours, you thought, sending my girlfriend to a home of a teach diddling students is a better call than outing myself as being in the house?”

Logan darkens. “Not my girlfriend. She’s made that clear. And no. In my big brain, I thought, she’s going to do this. Having her dad know will only prolong the inevitable, and if I go with her, at least she’ll trust me the next time she does something incredibly stupid.”

Weevil sighs. Leans against the wall. “I don’t get it. Shouldn’t there be like a search warrant or something?”

Logan shrugs, plays with the strings on his shirt. “Ronnie’s dad said something about the diary not being enough. They needed something more to prove this wasn’t just a fantasy.”

“Fucking system,” he gripes. “You know, if he lived in my neighborhood, a white girl telling the cops he leered at her would get the door broken down.”

“I feel you,” Logan tells him drily. “I really do.”

“Fuck off.”

“No. I think that now that you’ve got me, you get to tell me why you’ve suddenly decided Veronica doesn’t exist.” Weevil looks up. Logan looks at him hard.

“Nothing to tell,” he says. “Blondie was never a friend.”

“And yet, you stomp over here to give me what for about letting her endanger herself.”

Weevil shrugs. “Yeah, so?”

“So,” Logan moves closer, and gets right in his face, “I want to know what’s going on. Do you like her? Is that it? You pissed because she’s with me?”

It would be easier if that were true. It would be easier, Weevil supposes, if all the thoughts swirling around about he and Vee were right. That there was something there, other than what is. It would make the gang less hostile to the idea of helping her when she asked, and it would definitely make everything a little less confusing for him too. Because he still wants to know why he wants to protect her so much when he doesn’t want to sleep with her. At least, no more than he does any other attractive girl.

“No,” he finally spits out. “I don’t want Vee.” He pauses. “And no one gets it.”

Echolls looks like he’s won a prize. “Natives getting restless?”

Weevil jerks at the insult, knows Echolls meant it as an insult, but brushes that part off. “Something like that.”

“You tell her that?”

Weevil looks down, misery pouring through him. “No.”

“You should.”

Weevil doesn’t say anything else, watches Logan shift before he turns to walk off. He should, he knows. He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to reveal to her that he’s scared of losing what he’s got for a friendship that’s barely months old at this point. Being scared is something not allowed. Hasn’t been allowed for a long while. And she won’t get it, won’t understand why the gang is so important to him. She likes them, but he knows she sees the jobs they pull as clearly as she sees each guy in the group. When he lets himself wonder, he wonders if that’s how she sees him too - Weevil, and next to him, a rap sheet of things he’s been caught for and things she knows he’s done but has escaped any sort of judicial notice about. He wonders that, and then worries about how they can be friends if that is what she sees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline I have is loosely based on the www.marsinvestigations.net timeline for Veronica's sophomore year. Some things have obviously been changed, since Lilly is still alive.
> 
> So, my timeline is thusly:
> 
> • Duncan stops speaking to Veronica in late September of their sophomore year, effectively breaking up with her.  
> • Logan doesn't go down to Mexico with Dick and Beaver on October 3, and he and Lilly continue their dance of together-not together-together for a little longer.  
> • Veronica is profoundly affected by Duncan's treatment, and volunteers for the tutoring program mid-October.  
> • Weevil is failing math, so he goes to get a tutor and ends up with Veronica around that same time.  
> • Rooks sleeps with a student on February 20th.  
> • Carrie confronts Rooks in the halls March of their sophomore year.


	21. Chapter 21

The note in his locker tells Weevil to meet Veronica in the school library for their tutoring session. He probably should be suspicious. Vee isn’t above sneaking around, but she doesn’t run from confrontation either. He’s not, though, because he’s not really thinking about it. Because he’s still caught up in this whole deal where he can’t figure out how to be friends with her and still be who he is to everyone else.

He stops short when he sees Lilly on one of the tables, posed like something out of a magazine his grandmother would chase him out of the house with a broom for even thinking about having. She turns, slowly, seductively, and slides down and off. Through the haze of arousal, a question of whether or not she practices these moves floats to the surface. 

“Hello, lover,” she purrs. He takes a step back. She stalks gracefully toward him.

“What’s going on here, chica?” He backs up more, hoping to God there’s no one here to see him practically turn tail and run at the side of a hot blonde.

Lilly pouts. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” Her hand snakes down his jeans before he can stop it from happening. Her eyes gleam and her pout widens. “Feels like you are.”

He doesn’t move. “Where in the holy fuck is Veronica?”

Lilly doesn’t stop her ministrations, just gazes deep into his eyes. “Do you really want Veronica here, seeing this? Kinky, Eli. There are certain things I don’t do around her. She gets so uptight, you know? But that does answer a few questions I have.”

Weevil swallows air. “Got a note,” he chokes out. “Told me to meet Vee here. That was just you.”

Lilly shrugs one shoulder and kisses up the side of his neck, hand still occupied. “Well, duh. How else was I going to do this?”

“What’s this?” he breathes.

She giggles. “Oh, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” he answers, dropping his voice down an octave or three. “But what else is this?”

She knows what he’s asking, and she nips at his lip in return. Slides her tongue through them when he gasps. Pulls away after what could be no time and could be an eternity. Weevil’s lost.

“You’re messing with my bestie,” she tells him, but presses even closer. “You act like you’re the big man on campus, you know? She sees stars. It makes Logan crazy jealous, and generally I’m a fan of anything that does that. Even though she doesn’t do what she could - or should - with it.”

Weevil’s breathing is getting harder to regulate, and even the idea of Echolls isn’t enough to cut through the haze. “Yeah?”

Lilly licks his throat, sucks right below his ear, right where he likes it. “Yeah. And, Eli, I don’t approve.” Twists her hand just a bit, making his knees buckle.

“Feels like you approve alright,” Weevil grunts out. 

Her smile turns vicious, and her voice becomes sickeningly sweet. “Where you supposed to be right now?” The panic he felt dribbling up when he first saw Lilly and not Vee becomes a swell. “It isn’t here, right? I wonder where Veronica is right now.” She bites at his collar bone. Weevil feels paralyzed. “I bet you she’s feeling all lonely. I bet you she’s wondering where you are, what you’re doing. Why you don’t even care enough to cancel on her.” She doesn’t stop anything else as she makes him picture the other blonde in his life, drooping and miserable. “Or maybe she’s still hoping you’re going to show. Maybe you got held up by something. Maybe you’re going to be pulling into her driveway any second now, ready to do the book learning.” She hits him right where he likes it, and he hisses as he comes. She strokes him a few times more. “Or maybe not.”

“Why you doing this?” he croaks, and Lilly looks like she’s stone. Like she is untouchable.

“I told you,” she hisses, pushing back from him. “Veronica is mine. You weren’t supposed to have her, but if you’re going to take her, then you’d better take care of her. And what did you do? You threw her away.”

He’s madder than he’s ever been, standing around in wet pants and breaking plans with a girl who doesn’t play head games with one who seems to do nothing else. “I’m not exactly the first, am I? Don’t see you messing with Echolls like you did with me.”

Lilly’s face turns innocent. “Really? You think I wouldn’t do this with Logan if he hurt her?”

“You’re a bitch,” he spits. “You’re a crazy motherfucking bitch.”

“Yeah, I am. Like you didn’t know that.” She rolls her eyes at him. “But seriously, did you think I was going to be crawling all over you after you ditched her? I mean, you’re good, but seriously, no one is that good.”

Weevil wants to puke. He can see Vee tapping out a listless beat on the kitchen table, waiting for him. He turns to Lilly. “What were you hoping for here?”

“I got what I was hoping for. I was hoping you’d be stupid enough to try to do me or whatever, and then you’d be too late for Veronica’s little study session with you. And she’s so fed up with you, this one little misstep is all it’s going to take for her to be donezo. There you go. No more Veronica Mars to worry about messing up your cred any more.” She opens up her hands to him like she’s giving him a gift. “You go back to your separate corners, minimal harm, minimal foul.”

He stumbles back from her. “You do this and you know it’s hurting her. What kind of a sorry ass friend are you?”

Lilly bares her teeth at him, and she looks a little wild. “I’m the kind of sorry ass friend who’s going to keep my BFF from crying over an asshole any way I know how. And guess what? This is the way I know how.” She shakes out her hair and studies her fingers. “Don’t feel bad, Weevil. It’s not like anyone really gets away from me. I’m practically sex on a stick. Toodles.” She blows an air kiss at him as she sashays out. 

He stands there, feeling absolutely ravaged. Feeling like vultures are picking at his bones. Feeling like there’s nothing left to him, because Lilly stole it all. The phrase Hurricane Lilly gurgles to the forefront of his mind. He doesn’t want to move. He shakes his head. There’s no way to make it home and to the Mars Residence quickly enough to stop whatever Lilly has set in motion. There’s not going to be any second chances for him with Vee, the way there was for Echolls and Lilly herself. He’s out. Pain radiates through him at the thought. He got played, and played good.

He walks jerkily from the school, passing his locker on the way. Some thought tries to escape the blackness of his mood, but he forces it back and tries to keep walking. His legs stop. It’s like his entire body is shutting down, because he loves a girl who liked fucking around with him more than she liked fucking him. He looks back toward his locker before he starts moving again.

It isn’t until he’s almost to his bike that he realizes what is so important about his locker. Pants Vee borrowed forever ago are still in there, pushed down and to the back in his hurry to keep more of the school from seeing her hand them to him during the 09er assault. He might be able to fix this after all.

He jogs back into the school, makes his way to the locker room, and then pauses as he’s stripping down. He can’t help but try to douse the flame of hope that is licking his skin. She’ll probably believe whatever Lilly tells her anyway. He shouldn’t bother going there, to get ripped open again in one day.

But it’s worth the try, he thinks. It’s worth it to check if he’s so low down in her book right now she’d rather gut him than listen to him. 

The bike purrs to life beneath him, and he sighs. If this doesn’t work, he’s worried he’ll never feel the same way about hand jobs again. And he really likes a good hand job.

When he pulls into Vee’s driveway, he sees Lilly’s car. Bitch couldn’t make it easy, he thinks, and slides off his own ride. Throws his shoulders back. Saunters up to the door, and knocks. Lilly is the one who answers.

“She really doesn’t want to see you,” she tells him gleefully.

He glowers at the girl he wanted to be the one. “Yeah? Too fucking bad for her then.”

“Did you forget? Her dad’s the sheriff. He could have you down at the station in less time than it takes me to get a manicure.”

Weevil pushes her back, gently. Lilly stumbles a bit and glares at him. “I’m seeing Vee.”

He makes his way to the kitchen, where Veronica isn’t. Lilly is right on his heels. “Would you just leave? I mean, haven’t you done enough already?”

He growls, deep and low. “Don’t you mean, haven’t you done enough?”

Lilly rolls her eyes at him again. “Whatever. Just vamoose, okay?”

“No.” He continues his search down the hall and into Vee’s room. He knows about Vee’s room, at least, the fact that she has one. It’s an abstract, because he’s never been in it himself. He can’t help his glance around. It’s everything he thought it would be. Veronica herself is sprawled on the bed, face in a pillow.

“Lilly,” she says flatly and muffled. “Please, stop trying to cheer me up. Go home.”

“Yeah, Lilly,” Weevil says into the room. “Go home.”

Vee shoots up straight and falls off the bed. Weevil can’t help but grin at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for my study session,” he tells her seriously. “I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“You’re a half an hour late,” she spits. “I’m not your wait-around-until-you-feel-like-showing-up girl.” It’s less than a second before she makes a face like she’s disgusted that was the best she could come up with.

His grin softens. “I know you’re not.”

“And I’m not your consolation prize, either.” Lilly slides around him, links her arm through Vee’s, and nods vigorously at him.

“I told her what you said,” Lilly says, all haughty, and Vee nods righteously. 

“You mean how you’re a cold motherfucker of a bitch?”

Veronica looks shocked. “Weevil!”

Lilly grins at him from her side. “Nope, I left that charming part out. I meant our little rendezvous in the library. How you wanted her, but settled for me.”

Weevil sighs. “Vee, can we do this without an audience?”

Vee bites her lip, and looks at Lilly. Who shakes her head. “Oh, no! Come on, Dorkus, he’s going to say whatever he can to make you feel like he should be here. But we decided he shouldn’t.” She turns to him. “You need to go already.”

Vee keeps looking at Lilly. “Lills, I think...”

Lilly huffs. “Oh, fine! Talk to him. Let him explain how dumping you cold was like, the best thing he could have done for you, and he really wants to be friends but not around the guys. Veronica. I know that line. I give it to, like, half the guys I’m with. Except, you know, not friends.”

“Bet you always mean it, too,” Weevil throws at her.

Lilly smiles flirtatiously at him. “Only with you, baby.” Veronica head motions her to the door, and Lilly sighs. “Okay, fine. I’ll be in the living room, seeing what’s on the tvs of people who don’t have premium cable.”

He waits until Lilly is good and gone, and walks further into the room. Sits in the desk chair. “It wasn’t the best thing for you. It was the best thing for me.”

Veronica glares at him. “Then why are you here?”

“I need help with my math,” he tells her simply. She looks down. “And I like you. So, there’s that.”

Vee blushes a little, just across the tops of her cheeks. “When you say you like me, because -”

“Not like that,” he tells her. “Sure, we’d have a lot of fun, if you’d let us. But no. I like you, like a friend.”

“Then what was this week? What was today?”

“You know, Echolls just told me to tell you outright, but I was an asshole about it.”

“Logan knows?” Weevil wants to know if Vee knows how she sounds when she says Echolls’ name, like it is hopes and dreams come to life. 

He nods. “He was pretty pissed at me, when I was pretty fucking pissed at him. We got it out.”

She sits in the bed. “Alright. So, what’s the deal then?”

Weevil leans back. “I don’t want you. But, the things I’ve been doing for you...”

She bites her lip. “You’re looking weak?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes go wide. “Why don’t you just leave it, then?”

It’s what he knows she was going to ask, why he didn’t follow Echolls’ advice in the first place. “No.”

“I don’t understand -”

“And that’s why,” he tells her. “You don’t get it. You and me, we’re not the same. You were on the outs for no time at all. Me and mine, we are the outs. So, no. They’re my boys.”

She looks weary, and wary. “Lilly said you swept her up to the library. That you wanted to - and that me being with Logan pissed you off so you went back to her.”

“She’s lying,” Weevil says, willing Veronica to believe him. “I got a note, thought it was from you. Went to the library and got jumped good and hard.” He groans. “And in the middle of it all, she lays out this plan for making you not forgive me.”

Veronica shakes her head and smiles softly at him. “Sounds more like Lilly than getting dragged off and used.”

Weevil feels hope dancing across him, through him. “You believe me?”

She shrugs. “I guess. I mean, why would you come here, otherwise?”

“You mad at Lilly?” He wants her to be. He wants someone other than him to be.

“Not really. She’s Lilly. She does these things.” He grimaces. 

“And you let her.”

Veronica shrugs again, plays with the fringes on a blanket. “You don’t really know Lilly,” she says, speaking more to the bed than to him. “She’s not exactly the carefree person she shows to the world.” She looks at him. “Plus, at least two-thirds of what she pulled with you today was because she was trying to protect me.”

“Two-thirds?”

Veronica shrugs again. “Yeah. She was super mad at you, for ignoring me. But it’s Lilly, and even though she loves me and would do things like... well... you know in some plan that only makes sense to her, she’s also doing it because she’s Lilly.”

“So, we cool?” He wants them to be cool.

Her look becomes a glower. “No. We are not cool. You’re going to keep ignoring me at school, and it’s going to keep sucking.” She straightens up. “But, we’re okay enough that we can still work on your math. If, you know, you want.”

He nods. “Yeah. That’d be good.” 

She stands, and so does he. They make their way through the house, and Lilly bounces up off the couch to meet them. “You leaving? Too bad. Bye!”

“You’re leaving,” Veronica tells her, and Lilly’s face falls. Weevil wants to laugh at her.

“Veronica -”

Vee pushes forward, hugs her friend. “I love you, Lills. Thanks for trying to protect me. I’m going to help Weevil with his math now.”

Lilly grins, and bounces once before heading to the door. “I love you, Veronica Mars!” she calls back.

Weevil waits until the door is closed behind her. “Keep Echolls on a short leash around her.”

Veronica looks startled. “Why?” Weevil gives her a look, and Vee backs up. “No. Logan wouldn’t.”

“Sure,” Weevil drawls out. “Why would he?”

She looks unsettled, and he would feel bad about it if he didn’t think Lilly wouldn’t destroy them both in an effort to help Vee. Or, at least, claiming to help Vee. 

“Let’s just get to work,” she mutters. He follows her to the table.

It’s not as easy as it has been. Not as smooth. Veronica isn’t anything but professional, and he misses the old camradory. Wishes he knew how to fix it. Wishes there was a way out of this whole mess. While he’s at it, he wishes Lilly Kane didn’t get under his skin the way she does.


	22. Chapter 22

He’s tired, and he’s cranky, and he wants everything to just stop. Ignoring Veronica takes more out of him than he’d like to admit, and it’s only been a week and a half since their understanding. He doesn’t want to have it go on any longer; he wants to feel like he's in control again. Ophelia jumps on his bed to get him up and moving, and he has to hold back the string of curses he almost flings at her. She doesn’t deserve it, he knows it. She’s a baby, sweet smelling and innocent, with that wide smile that is just begging for pancakes. He gently tosses a pillow at her instead, and she giggles and escapes as he gets dressed for the day.

“It’s a school day,” he tells her when he finds her in the kitchen, still in her hand me down pajamas, holding a box of the mix he got her for when she’s good. “No. You get the cereal and that’s it.”

She pouts at him. “But Uncle Eli, you make the best -”

“I make the best everything when I’m the only one home to feed you, I know. But not today.”

He hates the sigh she gives him. She uses her entire body, like he just told her he would never be making her pancakes again, that he burned all the pancake plants down. She looks at him and the bag of store brand cereal mournfully. He glowers at her as he gets her out the bowl. 

“Why can’t we have good cereal? This tastes like cardboard.”

“You ever eat cardboard?” He asks it because he doesn’t want to answer her real question. Her lip quivers and it’s his turn to sigh. “Alright, here’s the deal: if you can get ready for school - completely ready, books in the bag and homework in the folder, clothes on your body and shoes on your feet, bed cleared away - I’ll make you a couple pancakes.”

She gasps in delight and runs out of the room. He pulls out the mix and the bowls, and gets to work, thanking everything he has that the other kids who usually live with them too have found their way to other relatives for a little while. It’s easier to spoil one kid than it is to spoil four, or more. Making pancakes for more than just Ophelia wouldn’t be possible. And he wants to do this for her. He wants to keep her in the bubble that life is nice for just a little while longer.

She knows it’s not, obviously. It’s hard to keep her from knowing that. He remembers when he got dropped off to stay with Abuela, remembers being wide eyed and knowing his mother would be coming back in a few days, until it became clear that she wasn’t coming back at all. He remembers seeing the same look in her eyes, when he opened the door and took her suitcase inside, and he remembers when that look died. When she figured out the lie too.

Pancakes and being late for his own day at school is a small price to pay to give Ophelia some of that back, some of that feeling of normalcy, of being loved unconditionally. And taking care of her is soothing to him, too. If he can take care of her, if he can keep her baby soft and wide eyed innocence for a little longer, everything he does and everything he is will be worth it. Because she deserves to feel as special and as whole as anybody not from the barrio.

They all do. But he’s going to do everything he can to make it happen for her.

So he feeds her, rubs her face with a towel when she smears syrup onto her cheek, checks to make sure everything is in order, and walks her to the bus stop. Watches her climb on, pink and bouncy and happy to be going. He watches the bus, bright and yellow, until it pulls turns off the street. He wants to promise her she’ll always be excited by school, that he won’t let anyone make her miserable, call her names, push her down. Make her feel like she’s less than because she isn’t white enough, rich enough, or just enough. But he can’t, he can’t promise that, and it poisons his day every time he watches her get on the bus, because every time he’s the one to do it he worries this will be the day she comes home in tears. And he’ll have been the one to send her there to be hurt. 

But he does it, every time it’s his turn, because he doesn’t know what else to do.

When he finally makes it to school, just after second period starts, Clemmons is waiting for him. “Eli Navarro. Tardy again, I see.”

He frowns. “Yeah. You know how it is. Engine trouble.”

Clemmons’ eyebrows raise. “If you would be so kind as to follow me to my office, there are a few matters regarding your lateness I would like to discuss.”

He follows Clemmons down the hall, and swears he can feel the eyes of every classroom following him too. He slides into the seat across from Clemmons’ desk, and waits.

“Eli, because you have been absent first period as often as you have, I had the opportunity to look over your attendance records. Do you know you manage to be late to school about once every six or so days?” Weevil stills, clenches his jaw. “Like clockwork, really. That’s not to say there aren’t days you are tardy in between, or downright absent. But every six or so days, you manage to miss homeroom, and at least part of first period.”

“Is that so?”

Clemmons seems unruffled. “That’s so. Your cousin also has a tendency to be tardy every six days or so. Different days, though.”

He can feel himself get tense, tries to force his fingers to relax. “So, you gonna sponsor an intervention? Maybe make it so first period English covers more than just a bunch of dead white guys?”

“I didn’t realize you had such pressing concerns with our curriculum, “Clemmons blandly replies. “But if you do, the proper way to express such an opinion is to write a letter to the school board; perhaps the school paper.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll do that. Can I go now? I’m failing math as it is.”

“I was under the impression your grades had improved under Miss Mars’ tutelage. Was that not correct?” Weevil shrugs. “More on point, your tardiness concerns me.”

“I do fine in English. I hand in the assignments, I get good enough grades even without being there every day to pass. So, what’s this about?”

The vice principal sighs. “Eli, is everything alright, in your home? I know you live with your grandmother.”

“Everything’s fine.” Weevil straightens up. “Better than fine. Really. We’re good. School’s just not my thing.”

“Or your cousin’s.”

“Or his.” Weevil wills him to believe it, wills him to just let this go. 

“We are here to help.” He wishes he could trust that, that Clemmons would want to help. That he’d understand that Ophelia getting to school is more important, right now, than him doing the same. That Shakespeare or Dickens or whoever else can take a backseat to that. He wouldn’t, though, that’s the thing. It’d just be one more black mark, an excuse to take her away.

“Yeah, you do a real good job of it too. Can I go now? Because if I fall more behind in math, my tutor’s gonna need an explanation. And I’m more than willing to send her to you.”

Clemmons sighs, looks frustrated at Weevil’s stonewalling. Weevil crosses his arms. “Yes, go. Get a slip from the front desk.”

“Yeah,” he mumbles, and slips out.

Felix catches up to him in the halls after math, and cuffs his arm. “Did you hear?”

“Hear what, man? I just got here.”

“Rooks is out. Your little blondie got him out. He was packing up his stuff and the cops just showed up like that, slapped some cuffs on him.” Felix grins. “She doesn’t play, does she?”

He snorts. “She doesn’t, no.”

“And the best part,” Felix continues, “is that they had just figured out Bishop was lying about the whole thing, when little miss detective somehow got Susan Knight to come forward.”

Weevil stops dead in the halls. “What are you saying?” 

“Ramon, my cousin, got stopped last night on some bullshit, got brought down to the station. When he was there getting booked, he heard that Bishop made up the whole thing. Sheriff was pissed. And that’s when Blondie walks right in with the girl, gets her to spill.”

“You’re about as bad as Bishop is with the gossip, you know?”

Felix looks affronted. “Hey, I don’t go spreading everyone’s business to everyone. Just to us. Where you take it is your business.”

Weevil stops in the halls, cuffs Felix in the arm. “Hey, I think I fucked up, with Veronica.”

Felix stops. Gets serious. “Yeah. I think you did too.”

“You were the one who told me -”

“Hey, you’re the man, right? I was just telling you. I figured, you would know a better way of dealing with it than just what it was, and what it is, you know?”

Weevil knows. There’s a middle ground he failed to conquer between being seen as being her lap dog and ignoring her existence. “Yeah.”

“You had your head in the fucking clouds, Weevil. And then you stuck it up your ass.”

“Yeah.” He wants to make it better. “How do I fix this, do you think?”

“Damn, dawg, I don’t know.” Felix smirks at him. “I don’t know much about Blondie except she likes Echolls, and she liked you, and, now, not to get on her bad side. You know more than that, and you still managed to screw up on that last one.”

Weevil shakes his head at him, “You’re a real lot of help, you know that?”

Felix’s smirk just deepens, and he punches Weevil in the arm. “Have fun making nice, once you figure out how.”

Weevil nods at him as Felix ambles down the hall. Sees Vee heading up the hall, toward him. He huffs. He can make this right. He's just got to actually start trying to make it right. He meets her halfway. “Hey.”

She plays at being surprised. “Oh, we’re talking now? During school hours? What will the PCHers think?”

“They’ll think what I tell them to think,” he tells her grimly. “I got a problem. And I wanted to tell you good job on getting Rooks.”

She looks a little keyed up. “Yeah, real mensch move of mine, getting what was, according to testimony at the school board hearing, one of the only decent teachers this school had fired. Of course, the question then becomes what kind of decent teacher sleeps with a student, but -”

“Hey,” he interrupts, “guys who get off on power probably shouldn’t be holding it over a bunch of underage girls, you get me?”

She quiets. “Yeah. It just, it sucks to think that someone who seems so great could really be so sketch, you know?”

“I don’t know.” He looks down, and then looks back up at her. “It doesn’t seem so bad a thing, if it means that the flip side is people who may seems sketch could turn out to be kind of okay too.”

“Only kind of okay?” She teases him. “Aren’t you selling yourself a little short?”

He bumps her with his shoulder, and she gives him the smallest of smiles. “Who said I was talking about me?”

“I do,” she tells him. “I think I broke your little code.”

“Yeah, well. You knew it was Susan Knight from the moment you figured out the diary wasn’t Carrie’s, didn’t you?” He’s not accusing her. He just wants it clear. She grins at him.

“Yeah.”

“How?”

She rolls her eyes, loses any sign of mirth. “Who would you go to bat for?”

“The gang, my family, you.” She sticks her tongue out at him.

“Sorry, cholo, I meant in reality. If it came down to it, who are the people you would do anything for?”

He wants to repeat the list. But he stops. Sighs. “Felix. My abuela.” 

He holds in adding her to the list. He’s not sure if it’s true, or if he just wants it to be true. Knows he hasn’t done a great job proving it to her or himself, these last couple of weeks, that he would do what it took to help her out of a jam, damn the consequences. She wouldn’t believe him anyway, with good reason. She gives the tiniest of grins, though, as if she hears what he left unsaid, the reasons behind it, everything. Ducks down her head. 

“Yeah, so Carrie’s got a list just like everyone else. And the only person I know of who’s on it is Susan Knight. Carrie’d do anything for her.” She looks out across the quad. “And Susan would do anything for Carrie. So, full circle. Once I knew my dad had figured out Carrie wasn’t the girl, it was pretty easy to convince Susan to tell the truth. So, what’s this problem you have?”

“Can we talk, in private?”

He watches as she stares at him, taking everything in. It feels like he’s being catalogued. “Yeah. Come on.”

She leads him to the girls’ room, and he shrugs as they make their way in. Asks as she checks out the stalls, “You adopt this place as your very own?”

“Yeah,” she says offhandedly. “It’s as good a place as any to get some privacy. Plus, I like the tile work. Very calming. What’s going on?”

He leans against the stall’s wall. “Clemmons is getting overly interested in when I bother coming to school.”

“You mean, like a vice principal doing his job? Scandalous.”

“Yeah, except I can’t have him doing that.” He wants her to get this, without having to explain it. She doesn’t.

“Then just show up for school on time for a while, and he’ll back off.”

He licks his lips, stares at the spot above her head. “I can’t do that. The Echolls have my grandmother get to work early, right? And we’re taking care of my niece, Ophelia. Sometimes more than just her. And someone’s got to get them fed and on the bus.”

“Oh.” It’s soft, and warm, and it’s not filled with the pity he didn’t want. He looks at her straight on. She looks sympathetic, and something else too. It takes him a second to figure it out. It’s admiration. He swells up a little bit, and then feels foolish for being proud of gaining her respect.

“Yeah. So, the neighborhood, everyone’s been real helpful. But I’m still in rotation. Me and Chardo.”

“And Clemmons is getting suspicious.” She bites her lip. “Okay, well, what’s the worst case scenario here?”

“They take her away. They put her in a home, or they try to track down her mother.”

Veronica nods. “And being with your grandmother is better.” He nods back. “So, what we have to do is figure out a way to make you not tardy, even when you are, or a way to make you not tardy at all.”

“Yeah.” He doesn’t know why, but just having her know makes him feel better, like there’s someone else going to battle with him. Someone else who will think of ways to fix this too.

“When’s the next time you’re set to be tardy?” Her eyes are sharp, and her lips are thin.

“Not until next Thursday. But Chardo’s on for Wednesday.”

“Okay, that gives me about four days to get something together.” She shrugs her bag back over her shoulder. “I’ll let you know what I come up with.”

“Thanks. I know I haven’t been the best to you -”

She swings back around. “Yeah, and we’re going to be talking about that. But until then, here’s the deal - I help you with your problem, and you keep an ear out for crap about Susan. She’s not in school today, but she’ll be coming back. You don’t even have to get involved, so don’t worry about that. Just give me names. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Right.” He wonders over this girl before him, growing visibly tougher by the week. She leaves the bathroom first, and he follows behind. Rocker chick, he thinks. She’s getting to be more and more a person he can hang with, without reservations. Without having to fit her and her pastel self into his world. She’s doing all of his work for him. He’s not sure if he likes it.


	23. Chapter 23

Three and a half days later, when Weevil is starting to feel like Veronica Mars isn’t going to offer him the answers needed, she comes at him with her entirely-too-pleased-with-herself grin and a brown-and-purple haired girl in tow.

“Mac, this is Weevil. Weevil, it is my incredible pleasure to introduce to you the answer to your prayers and dreams, Mac.” The girl in question looks a little uncomfortable with this introduction, but gives him a bashful smile and a little hand wave. Weevil’s a little less than impressed with the offerings.

“Her? She’s going to fix this for me.”

Vee mock glares at him, and the girl - Mac - blushes deep. “Are you doubting me? Fine. Mac and I will go work on other projects until you learn about a little thing called trust, my friend.”

“What the hell is wrong with you today?”

“I may or may not have had a triple espresso mochachino thing this morning. It was delicious, by the way.”

“But,” Mac counters softly, “maybe a little too high on the caffeine count.”

Weevil looks her up and down, can practically see the energy bubbling off of her. “Someone served you that?”

Veronica nods enthusiastically. “Carrie Bishop works at the coffee shop. She’s still pretty grateful for the work I did for her.”

“You’re just making friends left and right, aren’t you, chica?” He’s almost proud of her.

She grins at him and grabs onto his arm, tugging at him ineffectually. “Yes, I am. And as my friend, you’re going to come with me and we are going to explain the brilliance of my plan.”

He laughs at her, and lets her pull him in the direction of the girls’ room, lets her pull him through the door, and leans against the counter as she scouts for feet. Mac follows after them, meekly. As they’re waiting for Veronica’s go-ahead, he gives this new girl the up and down. Cute, but not flaunting it. Maybe not even aware of it. The opposite of Lilly Kane. He lets himself wonder what Vee’s best friend thinks about her branching out in this way, how Lilly is taking not being the belle of Veronica’s ball anymore.

Mac stands there and fidgets as Veronica bounces back and hops onto the counter beside him, swinging her legs and smiling at him. “So, Mars, what’s this plan of yours?”

She turns decisively to her new cohort. “Mac?”

“Okay, well, the school’s attendance list is entered into the computer system every morning by the secretaries, right?” He nods. “And then those paper records are discarded, because the information they need has been recorded in the database. So, the real issue isn’t making it so that you’re in class to be counted. It’s making you counted in the system.”

“How are we gonna do that?”

Mac’s face breaks into a satisfied and entirely confident grin. “You ever see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? We’re basically going to do that. And by ‘we’, I mean ‘me’.”

“Mac here’s a hacker. Very good with computers.” Vee bumps him with her shoulder. “So what we’re going to do is have you and Chardo show up for school these next couple of times when you should be watching Ophelia, and Logan and I will take over for you there so Clemmons doesn’t get suspicious. And that will give Mac enough time to figure out if she can create a program that will target you and your attendance records specifically, or if we’re - meaning she is - going to have to go in manually to change it when you’re tardy.”

Mac nods, and Weevil feels the tension that has been building in his shoulders start to leave. “And you’re sure this will work?”

The purple streaked girl nods again. “Sure. I’ve gotten into the school’s records before. It’s not like they’re using the most incredible software known to man. It’s pretty easy if you know what you’re doing.”

“And what are you getting out of this?” Quid pro quo, he gets. But he doesn’t know what Veronica has, or what she’s offered up in exchange.

Mac and Vee share a look, and he knows he’s not getting the full story when his little blonde friend shoos him off the scent with a “don’t worry about it”.

It’s a battle he decides not to fight right now, and moves on to more pressing issues. Like Echolls helping him out. “Why are you and Echolls going to do this?”

Veronica shrugs. “If you’re right, nothing we can do will fix the problem if Clemmons is watching out for you and Chardo specifically. If he’s keeping an eye out for when you guys get here, Mac changing the records for those times will only draw attention to this little operation and get us all busted. So, what we need is a reprieve. Since you and Chardo can’t, and you won’t let anyone who doesn’t know her take Ophelia to the bus stop, with good reason, that leaves the rest of the PCHers or me. If Clemmons is watching you, that means he’s probably got Felix and the boys in his sight too; so that leaves me. I don’t have a car yet, so that means Logan. And this will be a trial run for Mac and her hacking abilities, to see if it’s as easy to change a tardy to an in attendance and she’s led us to believe.”

“Yeah,” he flounders, “but why are you doing this?”

Her grin becomes softer, and she leans into him, resting on him. “You asked for my help,” she answers softly. “I’m not going to let you down.”

He immediately gets warm. Knows he’s giving her a whole other kind of look, the look that says he’s kind of in awe of her, and she turns to rest her chin on his shoulder. 

“I’m still a bit miffed, you know. About everything. But you’re good people, Eli Navarro.”

“You too, Vee.”

Mac breaks the moment with a cough, and he senses rather than sees Veronica slide away from him and turn her attention back to this new addition to their group. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got class, so -”

“Go,” Veronica encourages her. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Mac nods and gives a soft little half smile in return. “Bye, Veronica.”

As the door swings shut, she slides off the counter herself. “Mac’s right. We should be doing the class thing now.”

“What are you doing for that girl, Vee?”

She shrugs. “A little of this, a little of that. Mac’s good people too, Weevs. She’s going to help us out with this, and then I’ll help her with her stuff.”

He pushes off the wall. When they get to the entrance, he holds open the door for her to slide on by. “By the way, I notice that after the first couple of comments, no one seems to be saying anything to or about Susan Knight anymore.”

“Yeah?” He plays dumb.

“I told you I’d take care of it.” The second bell rings, and he shrugs as they go to part ways.

“Call it an apology protection,” he says. “To make up a bit for that stretch of time I was a cabron.”

She gives him a long look, and glides down the hallway. He watches her go.

~~~

Chardo groans when Weevil tells him the plan Veronica has concocted over lunch, and the rest of the gang sits and waits the fallout. “Why we doing what these gabachos tell us to, eh? This is our business. We should be working it out our way.”

“I’d have thought all you would be happy that the favors we’ve been doing for her are being repaid,” Weevil says sharply, “since I know how concerned all you were about the freebies. And now, what she’s got to give isn’t good enough? No. That’s not how it works here.”

“How does it work, then, cousin?” Chardo stares him straight, and Weevil matches the glare.

“The way it works is this: I decide what we do. We do it. That’s it. Anyone got a problem with that, they take it up with me direct. Anyone want to be in charge? They can do that when they beat me. Until then, this is my club, and we do things on my say-so.” Chardo looks down. “Now, we’re doing it Vee’s way, because Vee’s part of the inside. She knows the ropes, and she’s getting people together who can work ‘em. That’s it.”

“Heads up,” Felix breaks in. “Blondie and friend, heading this way.”

He resists looking up to the sky, resists silently pleading that she’ll be good enough to avoid making it look like he’s one of the people who has gotten pulled into her orbit, is one of the people she can crook a finger at to work those ropes he was just talking about. One of the ones where the quid pro quo is more of an illusion than a working aspect of their relationship.

And comes face to face with a different blonde. 

“Where’s Veronica?”

He’s avoided Lilly since that day in the library, and she’s showing up at the worst possible time to garner a pleasant response. “How the fuck should I know? I’m not her keeper.”

The guy who’s hand she’s got her fingers wound in between looks either stoned or stupid, and Weevil can’t be bothered to figure out which one right now as Lilly tightens her mouth into a line and glowers at him. “You should fucking know because you’re the person who keeps tabs on her, paco. Now, where is she?”

“All my boys are here,” he tells her. “What’s so important?”

“Um, she’s my best friend and I haven’t seen her in days. So.” She looks at him expectantly.

He laughs. “You waiting for me to jump? Forget it.”

“I just want to know where she is,” Lilly wheedles. “How hard is it for you to, like, tell me?”

“How hard is it for you to bother someone who cares about it? Or better yet, figure it out for yourself?”

She changes instantly, from being the bitch to being something else. She drops the guy’s hand and steps into his space, running her hands over his shoulders. The guy’s got to be stoned, Weevil thinks, because even stupid would be doing something about this right now. “Oh, baby. I love it when you get nasty.”

“And I love it when you get gone. You and me? We were never a thing.”

She looks absolutely delighted with where he’s turned, and he can’t figure her out for the life of him. Can’t pin down where she’s coming from or where she’s going. “When you see her, tell her I’m missing her. We are totally due for a girly date. Tell her that.”

He snorts, and she grabs her new guy’s hand and tugs him away. He snorts, but he knows the next time he sees her, he’s going to tell Vee what Lilly asked him to. Because he can’t let go of this feeling that everything Lilly says has an alternate meaning he just hasn’t gleaned yet, and the idea of Lilly and her secrets confronting an unprepared Veronica for the second time twists his gut in all kind of unpleasant ways. “Felix, next time, be more specific when it comes to which blondie.”

“Right. So is she Blondie One or Blondie Two?”

He doesn’t answer, just stares out over the expanse of the school. He can’t find Vee either, or Echolls, but that’s not too unusual these days. Doesn’t see the new girl Mac Vee’s brought in. It’s enough to make him nervous, Lilly traipsing up to him, in particular. Lilly weaves webs, he knows, and he’s got enough problems of his own at the moment that he can’t be getting caught up in a mess of her making.


End file.
